Liverpool missed the boat over £40m man in summer despite Jorg Schmadtke recommendation A fresh report has outlined why Liverpool missed out on one transfer target during the summer despite him being recommended to the club by Jorg Schmadtke
TEAMtalk claims that the Reds’ sports director, who had already presided over the Dutch defender’s transfer to Wolfsburg in 2021, had fought for Micky van de Ven.
The 22-year-old’s representation were ‘fully aware’ of LFC’s interest in him and prepared to make a formal offer after the Merseysiders spoke with the Bundesliga team about him.
Tottenham nonetheless began negotiations with the center-back, who apparently had no second thoughts at that time and took advantage of Liverpool’s hesitation to sign him for £40 million in early August.
According to TEAMtalk, the Red Devils’ sporting director defended Micky van de Ven’s case, and oversaw the transfer of the Dutch defender to Wolfsburg in 2021. The Merseysiders have even spoken to the Bundesliga side about the 22-year-old, with their representatives “well aware” of LFC’s interest in him and their readiness to make a serious offer. awake.
However, Tottenham have since opened talks with the centre-back, who is said to have had no hesitation in choosing Spurs at this stage, with the north London side taking advantage of Liverpool’s blockade to sign him for for £40 million in early August.
Schmadtke and Jurgen Klopp may be disappointed that the Red Devils were unable to move quickly enough to catch Van de Ven against Tottenham, when the defender had made a promising start to life in England.
His first four Premier League games saw him record a success rate of 93.5%, a figure that is second only to Joe Gomez (93.8%) among all Liverpool starters this season ( WhoScored). The feeling of missing out has been exacerbated by the recent absences of Virgil van Dijk (suspended) and Ibrahima Konate (injured), leaving LFC short on centre-back options which, fortunately, have improved significantly in last time. two years. Game.
Timing could be a factor why the Red Devils don’t go all out for Van de Ven. At the time he joined Spurs, we were focused on adding midfielders to compensate for the unexpected losses of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho in the Saudi Pro League.
That may have seen defensive recruits slip down the list of priorities, although one could argue that had Liverpool truly wanted the Dutch centre-back, they would’ve made their move for him before Tottenham got the chance.
Whatever the circumstances, that boat has now sailed, so if LFC are to look at adding central defensive options in January, they’ll need to turn their attention towards other targets.
