Tottenham Hotspur centre-back has been labelled “world-class” as a former Spurs star has backed him to “walk straight into Manchester City’s team”.
The 23-year-old joined Spurs during the 2023 summer transfer window from Bundesliga outfit VfL Wolfsburg for around £42m.
The Netherlands international was heavily linked with Liverpool before he signed for Tottenham, who pulled off a major coup when they landed him ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.
Van de Ven has been hampered by injuries in recent seasons but has still emerged as one of the standout centre-backs in the Premier League.
The speedy defender could soon attract interest from several European giants and former Tottenham midfielder Jamie O’Hara thinks he is “world class”.
“I think Van de Ven is a world-class player,” O’Hara said.
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Dean Saunders: “Van de Ven? He has had one season playing in the high line. World class? Van de Ven?”
“He ain’t getting in Manchester City’s team. He is not getting in Liverpool’s.”
O’Hara responded: “What are you talking about? He would walk straight into Manchester City’s team. He walks into it.”
Saunders refuted this claim, saying “no chance”. But O’Hara doubled down as he claimed: “He walks into any team.”
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Saunders did not agree as Van de Ven “needs to show for a couple of years” that he can play “without making mistakes”.
“He needs to show for a couple of years yet that he can keep playing in the Premier League at that level without making mistakes. No mistakes. Top players don’t make mistakes,” Saunders said.
“Van Dijk hardly makes a mistake. He does now and again, but not as many as others. And that’s why he is Van Dijk. Konate doesn’t make that many mistakes. Man City’s centre-backs.”
Spurs head coach Ange Postecoglou is under pressure at the moment as his side have been infuriatingly inconsistent at the start of this season.
Despite this, Van de Ven has backed them to “achieve some beautiful things” this season as they look to win a trophy.
“We all trust in the process and the system the gaffer wants to play. We all trust in each other and we know we can achieve some beautiful things.”
He added: “Of course we want to win a trophy. That is something we all want and we are working towards every day. Even if the gaffer didn’t say this, we still had the same belief as a group.
“We know our quality. We know we have some unbelievable players in the team and an unbelievable group of players. Hopefully we can win a prize. That’s a big thing for us.”