Forget Van de Ven: Liverpool can sign high-ceiling defender who stunned Bundesliga

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Liverpool are reportedly planning to move for Micky van de Ven next year.The Dutch international, recently named Tottenham captain following Roberto De Zerbi’s arrival at the club, is being targeted to bolster a Reds backline that could be deeply impacted by the potential departure of Virgil van Dijk next summer, reports Football Insider.The 35-year-old’s current terms are set to expire in the summer of 2027.Forget Van de Ven: Go for Luka Vuskovic(Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)If you’re going to commit big bucks to signing Van de Ven – and you’ll have to for Spurs’ captain, who recently signed a five-year deal – you should scope out the rest of the market and see what £115m (Tottenham’s alleged asking price, according to Mundo Deportivo) can get you.Luka Vuskovic, for instance, who signed in a £50m deal from the north London-based outfit this summer, would surely be gettable somewhere underneath that figure. Significantly so, you’d hope, despite Brighton’s penchant for securing massive deals for talents they’ve developed.Admittedly, you’d be buying potential in the teenage Croatian as opposed to his more experienced 25-year-old counterpart at Tottenham.

Luka Vuskovic’s stats (per 90) Micky van de Ven (per 90) 10.07 line-breaking passes (59th percentile) 10.25 line-breaking passes (61st percentile) 56.9% duels won percentage (45th percentile) 67.7% duels won percentage (84th percentile) 59.3% aerial duels won percentage (48th percentile) 71.4% aerial duels won percentage (94th percentile) * Luka Vuskovic and Micky van de Ven’s stats in the 2026/27 Premier League season (FotMob)Equally, of course, one might reasonably argue you’d be committing to the higher ceiling in the 19-year-old, if his impressive loan spell with Hamburg in the Bundesliga offers any indication. Luka Vuskovic’s stats (per 90) in Bundesliga Percentiles 67.6% duels won percentage 93rd 74.5% aerial duels won percentage 96th 12.5 defensive contributions 94th 1.47 interceptions 71st 4.65 recoveries 81st 0.26 dribbled past 79th * Luka Vuskovic’s stats with Hamburg in the 2025/26 Bundesliga season (FotMob)While we don’t have specific line-breaking pass data from the Bundesliga, various reports have evidenced Vuskovic’s comfort in this area (even when under pressure).Liverpool may very well want to go down the experience route(Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)With Virgil van Dijk potentially departing in the summer (it remains to be seen if he’ll be handed a new contract), Liverpool would be set to enter a new era with a very young backline.If we’re to commit to Jeremy Jacquet (21), Giovanni Leoni (19), Ifeanyi Ndukwe (18) and Mor Talla Ndiaye (18), you’re putting an awful lot of faith in youth.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as we’ve seen with Jacquet this season, and Leoni did look particularly impressive against Southampton in the cup before picking up a long-term injury.But the presence of Van Dijk at the club has always offered more than enough reassurance that, should anything go wrong, Liverpool have a seasoned, world-class star at the back to rely on at any given moment.Now, Liverpool could look to rectify a loss of experience by activating their buy option for Ronald Araujo (27). Alternatively, or additionally, there’s a very real possibility that we look to extend our No.4’s stay at Anfield a little while longer.In the event that neither option pans out as we’d hope, you could forgive Julian Ward and the recruitment team for prioritising raising the floor over the ceiling next summer.In which case, a top prospect like Vuskovic may be left to continue his development down on the south coast.