Micky van de Ven ready to prove doubters wrong as he makes Europa final vow

The Premier League's fastest ever player Micky van de Ven is used to silencing critics having been told as a teenager that he was too slow to become a professional footballer
When Micky van de Ven was coming through at Volendam, the Dutch club's coach said he was too slow to become a pro. Then he became the fastest Premier League player on record.
When Van de Ven joined Spurs in the summer of 2023 he was told to wave goodbye to dreams of winning silverware. Now he is one step from delivering the club's first trophy since 2008 – and again proving the naysayers wrong.
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Doubts and criticism have been fueling the Netherlands international's turbo engine since his mid-teens and he admits: 'I still use them now. At Volendam there were people who didn't have the trust in me and now I am standing here. I think I proved them wrong.
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'But to be honest it was my dad, my mum and my sister who were the ones who kept pushing me.'
Dad Marcel was an undercover agent for a serious crimes unit who has more recently appeared on a reality TV show, Hunted, in which he tracks down contestants who have gone on the run. And the calm, analytical mind required to crack cases have been passed down a generation.
Being unflustered is imperative in Ange Postecoglou's daring system and Van de Ven has built a relationship with Cristian Romero that he describes as 'an unbelievable connection.'
He adds: 'We just feel each other in the game. If he does something, I know how I need to cover him, how I can help him. On the other side it's the same — when I have the ball, he knows how to cover me. He knows how to help in every situation.
"That is just the feeling we have grown into each other.'
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An Ajax fan, Van de Ven was in the Amsterdam crowd that saw Spurs stage the most dramatic of comebacks to reach the 2019 Champions League final – only for Liverpool to win another all-English decider. He understands how Tottenham 's history looms large but is utterly convinced that this group can change the culture and direction – in spite of the barbs from 'banter people' and social media drones.
'Everybody knows that when you join Tottenham, you get the words of 'Ah, you're not going to win a trophy', that you will be trophyless the rest of your career,' he adds. 'But all the guys that came up here were like, 'We're going to change something about this club.'
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'It was the gaffer and it was the whole squad who said, 'We're going to come here and change something.' For us, it's the job now to make this happen in Bilbao. We all know we play for a big club. This club deserves trophies. That's the truth.
'If you look at the quality in the squad, we deserve a trophy. It has been a tough season but we can end this perfectly by winning a prize.'

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Daily Mail​

an hour ago

• Daily Mail​

After Florian Wirtz's record-breaking £116m move to Liverpool was confirmed, who is YOUR club's most expensive signing ever?

Money, money, money. It makes the world go round, and it definitely makes the football world go round. First there was Willie Groves. Then there was Alf Common. Then Denis Law. Trevor Francis. Paul Pogba. Now, there is Florian Wirtz. The 1970s saw a quick increase in the price of British football transfers, but those kind of fees were nothing compared to today. Signings over £100million are now common, and the latest has gone through in the form of Bayer Leverkusen's Wirtz joining Liverpool for what could be £116m - another record. And that number will likely carry on rising. Yet big money does not equal success. Just ask Philippe Coutinho. But how much is each club actually spending? Who have they taken punts on... and have the moves worked out? Here, Mail Sport rates every Premier League club's record signing. And no sitting on the fence - it's either a hit or a miss. Wirtz put pen to paper on a deal that has been one of the most talked about moves of the summer so far Arsenal - Declan Rice, £105m Declan Rice was one of the most sought-after midfielders in world football when he joined Arsenal in the summer of 2023. Fresh off captaining West Ham - his boyhood club - to Europa Conference League success, he was linked with the likes of Bayern Munich and Chelsea, but opted to join the Gunners for £105m plugging a huge midfield gap and locking himself in as an Emirates ever-present. He is yet to lead them to a trophy, but he remains one of the best midfielders in Europe and has started to add goals to him game, finding the net nine times last season and establishing himself as a genuine No 8 rather than a defensive midfielder. Arsenal fans will remember his two free-kicks against Real Madrid that signalled perhaps the best night at the Emirates, and, at 26, he still has room to get better too. Verdict: Hit Aston Villa - Amadou Onana, £50m Amadou Onana (do NOT call him Andre, mate) had outgrown Everton when he moved on a year ago and quickly moved to Aston Villa, with the Toffees needing to sell for financial reasons. The central midfielder started the season really well, establishing himself as a regular in a team that was competing on a number of fronts. But the odd injury meant his season was stagnated and he failed to regain his form after a setback in November. A lot to prove and show, but a top talent that Villa will feel the best is yet to come from at 23. Verdict: Hit Bournemouth - Evanilson, £40m It was always going to be a tough task replacing Dominic Solanke at Bournemouth, but Brentford had £65m to spend - and they were going to splash the cash on a new centre forward. Up stepped Evalison. The Brazilian, leaving fans stunned at his pricey arrival given the club almost collapsed just over a decade prior, left Porto for the south coast and bagged 10 league goals in his first season. Andoni Iraola will, in truth, want more, but the 25-year-old is often heavily supported in terms of goals by the likes of Antoine Semenyo, James Tavernier and Justin Kluivert. A good first year, but work still to do. Verdict: Hit Brentford - Igor Thiago, £31m You'd be forgiven for asking: who? Like Bournemouth, Brentford needed a new No 9 to fill big shoes last summer and had money ready to spend ahead of the £40m sale of Ivan Toney to the Saudi Pro League. Who would be Bryan Mbeumo's new partner in crime? Well, Igor Thiago was the man chosen, signing ahead of time in early 2024. He didn't officially join until the summer, but he suffered a ligament injury in his right knee in his last game for former side Club Brugge, and then hurt a knee meniscus in pre-season with Brentford. He didn't debut until November and then got an infection. The rise of Yoane Wissa helped ease pressure on him to get fit, but he has played just eight times so far and is yet to score for the Bees. Verdict: Miss Brighton - Georginio Rutter, £40m Paying a record fee for an attacking midfielder was always going to be a risk for Brighton considering one of their best players - Joao Pedro - already played in that position. But it has paid off. Though he missed the end of the season after picking up an ankle injury in March, he chipped in with eight goals before that and became a fan favourite at the Amex and someone Fabian Hurzeler could regularly rely on. With Pedro linked with an exit, Rutter could kick on even further next season, and perhaps even establish himself as a proper bargain. Verdict: Hit Burnley - Zeki Amdouni, £15.9m A different Burnley had just been promoted to the Premier League two years ago, playing tidy football under Vincent Kompany in a complete contrast to what top flight fans had become accustomed to under Sean Dyche. With high hopes, they spent decent money and Zeki Amdouni arrived from Basel in Switzerland, hoping he would lead their attacking charge. Things didn't go to plan, however - for Burnley or Amdoundi - with the Clarets going straight back down on the back of a dismal top flight campaign. In that time, the Moroccan scored five league goals in 34 league games, finding himself more in and out of the team as the season progressed. Upon Burnley's relegation, he left. He joined Benfica on loan and scored seven goals in 24 games, mostly as a substitute. Upon the expiry of that loan he is now back at Turf Moor - take two begins. Verdict: Miss Chelsea - Moises Caicedo, £115m The man who is currently the holder of the most expensive transfer in British football history - but not for long. Eyebrows were raised when Chelsea coughed up a mighty £115m for Moises Caicedo two years ago, with the midfielder rejecting Liverpool to sign for the London club. At first, he struggled, and the move was looking like a disaster. But it didn't take too long for him to find his feet, and the Ecuadorian was one of the Premier League's standout players last season. Whether it was from right back of defensive midfield, Caicedo found a way to stamp his influence on games and is still only 23. Verdict: Hit Crystal Palace - Christian Benteke, £32m The furthest back we have gone so far - back to August 2016, when Christian Benteke arrived at Crystal Palace from Liverpool. He had endured a tough time at Anfield after impressing at Aston Villa. Still, he was hoping to inject live back into his career and he did just that at Selhurst Park. The Belgian scored 37 times across 177 appearances for Palace, shining during the Covid period. The big man will always be known for his late winner against Brighton in the 2020-21 season, and he eventually left in 2022 to join DC United in the MLS. Verdict: Hit Everton - Gylfi Sigurdsson, £45m Gylfi Sigurdsson was another player who was looking to climb the ranks again, having rejoined Swansea City on the back of a quiet period at Tottenham. He made the leap, though, to Everton in August 2017 in what was meant to be the start of an exciting period under Farhad Moshiri. Recruitment was muddled, however, with no real plan seemingly in place and Wayne Rooney and Davy Klaassen - also No 10s - also signing that summer despite the Toffees' defensive struggles. The now-35-year-old failed to pull up too many trees in Everton blue, but did play more than 150 games for the club. That was until he didn't feature during the last year of his contract, with a reason why never officially revealed. Verdict: Miss Fulham - Emile Smith Rowe, £35m Perhaps the harshest call on this list, Emile Smith Rowe, like many others, had a mixed first season with the Cottagers after making the leap from boyhood club Arsenal. Called up by England in 2021 and breaking into the Arsenal team, the world seemed the midfielder's oyster until injury curtailed his progress and he struggled to get back into the reckoning. Arsenal reluctantly sold him to Fulham, and he started like a steam train after Marco Silva described his arrival as a 'statement signing'. But things slowed down, and he managed six goals in his debut year. Silva has called for more consistency next season, so there is still time to turn the 'miss' verdict around. Verdict: Miss Leeds - Georginio Rutter, £35.5m The only man to feature twice on this list, but in two different ways. Leeds spent big on Rutter to bring him in from Hoffenheim but it was wrong place, wrong time for the player. An unknown attacking midfielder, he penned five-and-a-half year deal in January 2023 but struggled to help the Whites stay up, and they were relegated with Rutter struggling for minutes. He didn't leave right away, though, and improved in the Championship, proving a reliable player for Daniel Farke as one of the best players in the second division before making the jump to Brighton last summer. Verdict: Miss Liverpool - Darwin Nunez, £85m This was the Premier League champions' most-expensive signing before Wirtz. What could have been. Nunez tore Liverpool apart at Anfield when playing for Benfica, and his pace and power resulted in the Reds splashing out over £80m to make him their new No 9. Liverpool fans were excited and compared Nunez to Erling Haaland, who arrived at the same time. He got off on the front foot, scoring in the Community Shield win over Manchester City, before things went slightly wrong. He was sent off for headbutting Joachim Andersen just a matter of games into his Liverpool career and, despite heroic moments against the likes of Newcastle and Brentford, his poor form and notable misses have meant his Anfield career could well be over. He has scored 40 goals in three years - and may not get another. Unfortunately for Nunez - as he's used to - it's a miss. And he will be pleased to no longer hold this accolade. Verdict: Miss Manchester City - Jack Grealish, £100m Jack Grealish's Manchester City career seems to be coming to a sorry end, with the forward left out of Pep Guardiola's squad for the Club World Cup after his boss told him to find another club. He was the Premier League's hottest property when he swapped Aston Villa for City in 2021, becoming the most expensive English player of all time - a record now broken by Rice. He has gone onto win five major trophies, including both the Premier League and Champions League, but many are of the opinion that his days as a maverick wide star are long behind him. Just seven starts came last year, and, despite the team success he has contributed to, it's hard to argue that he hasn't failed to live up to expectations - whether that's his fault or not. Verdict: Miss Manchester United - Paul Pogba, £100m Is there anything more Manchester United than losing one of your most talented academy players ever for next to nothing, seeing him become a success elsewhere and signing him back for £100m, only for it to not work out? It was a world record transfer fee that the Red Devils paid to get Paul Pogba back from Juventus, and he spent six years at United without really doing too much. Some called his attitude into question, and his inconsistencies were big red flags for many before United eventually cut their losses in 2022, when he left for nothing. Verdict: Miss Newcastle - Alexander Isak, £60m Newcastle coughed up £60m for Alexander Isak in 2022 and it's probably one of the best signings they have ever made. He was impressing at Real Sociedad but his fitness record was a huge concern, with Callum Wilson already missing plenty of game time through injury. But the calculated gamble has paid off in style, and the Swede is now one of the best strikers on the planet. He has scored 21 and 23 Premier League goals in the last two seasons respectively, and the Magpies will be happy they have him tied down to a deal that runs until 2029, because the sharks aren't going to stop circling. Liverpool continue to be linked. Verdict: Hit Nottingham Forest - Elliot Anderson, £35m Elliot Anderson only joined Nottingham Forest because of risks of PSR ruling breaches. He was a Magpie through and through, but made the leap and has only kicked on from the exciting start he had made to his career on Tyneside. Odysseas Vlachodimos - remember him? - went the other way for £20m, but that has only represented major success for Nuno Espirito Santo and his men because they now have a gem on their hands. Versatile and still just 22, Anderson will be in the England set-up before you know it and could well leave the City Ground for a much larger fee in the near future. Verdict: Hit Sunderland - Didier Ndong, £13.5m (until Enzo Le Fee..) Without doubt the worst signing on this list - and Sunderland will be glad that last year's loanee star Enzo Le Fee has now broken the club record, making his temporary stay from Roma permanent for £19m. But we've got to discuss Ndong. He stood as Sunderland's record signing for nine years, having joined in 2016 when the Black Cats were relegated from the top flight. He stuck around when they were relegated, too - playing a total of 54 times. His contract was terminated in 2018 when he failed to turn up for training for months on end. Sunderland were in League One at the time, and managed to get him off their wage bill ahead of the climb that saw them return back to the top flight for this season. Verdict: Miss Tottenham - Dominic Solanke, £65m Dominic Solanke scored 16 goals in 45 games for Tottenham in his first year after joining from Bournemouth, with nine of those coming in the Premier League. Five, though, came in the Europa League, which helped Ange Postecoglou's side end their 17-year trophy drought. He - and Spurs - would have hoped for a better goal return, but it was a season badly impacted by injury and his work off the ball and record in big games aren't to scoff at. A fully fit Solanke, playing under a new manager that did wonders for the likes of Mbeumo, Wissa and Ollie Watkins, could prove to be a real star. Verdict: Hit West Ham - Lucas Paqueta, £51m It's certainly still one that could go either way. In terms of pure football ability, Lucas Paqueta is West Ham's best player and he has shown that on more than one occasion. His name is etched in history after assisting Jarrod Bowen's winner in the Conference League final in 2023, and he could have moved to Manchester City that summer. But things seemed to fall apart when an investigation into alleged breaches of betting roles commenced. He will continue to play a key role for the Hammers until he either moves on or isn't allowed to play - and there has been no sign that that will happen so far. He has been charged by the FA, but denies them and continues to fight to clear his name. Verdict: Hit Wolves - Mateus Cunha, £44m Another sour end to what was an electric spell, Matheus Cunha has now moved onto pastures new after forcing his way out of Molineux for a move to Manchester United. He spent two years with Wolves as a permanent player, first joining on loan, enduring a slow start until he established himself as Wolves' most talented player, if a little hot-headed at times. The Brazilian had notches 29 goals in 83 Premier League games by the time he left, and won the hearts of fans, who still cheered his name after it became clear he would be leaving.

Daily Mirror

an hour ago

• Daily Mirror

Premier League legend is 'latest star to join Strictly Come Dancing 2025'

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Daily Mirror

an hour ago

• Daily Mirror

Jurgen Klopp's three-word response to huge Florian Wirtz transfer speaks volumes

Liverpool confirmed the signing of top transfer target Florian Wirtz on Friday, having agreed a deal with Bayer Leverkusen to sign him for a British-record £116million fee Jurgen Klopp has offered his seal of approval to Liverpool's new £116million signing, Florian Wirtz. The German playmaker, 22, has joined the Reds on a five-year contract after completing a British-record move from Bayer Leverkusen. Wirtz was Liverpool's top target going into the summer transfer window and they've managed to beat Manchester City, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich to his signature. The deal is comprised of £100m paid to Leverkusen upfront with a further £16m in potential add-ons. ‌ It's by far the biggest signing made since Klopp departed Anfield, with his successor, Arne Slot, having led the Reds to the Premier League title in his first season. Slot's reward is to work with a top talent like Wirtz and Klopp has no doubts that he'll be 'really, really great' on Merseyside. ‌ During an interview with to German broadcaster RTL, the former Liverpool boss was asked to give his verdict of the transfer. "It will be really, really great," Klopp replied. "I'm sure of it." The legendary manager went on to say: "It's very difficult to strengthen them when you're champions. But Liverpool have managed that. They've signed an exceptional talent in Florian Wirtz." Wirtz had the pick of some of Europe's best clubs but he and his family felt that Liverpool was the perfect next step. "I just thought that it was the right point in my career to make the next step and of course I wanted to get to a club that is from the top three in the world, and in my opinion Liverpool was one of them," the 31-time Germany international explained. "Yeah, I just saw myself in the best hands in Liverpool. I was really convinced by the people here, by the idea, and everything what the club offers me was really good. And in the end [it was] also easy to be excited for me to come to Liverpool. Will Florian Wirtz live up to his £116m price tag at Liverpool? Give us your prediction in the comments section. ‌ "It was not that easy for me, for sure, because I am a German player, I play for the Germany national team. So, it was not easy for me to decide but I think the talks with the coach and Richard [Hughes, Liverpool's sporting director] and everybody were, from the start or from the very first time, so good and it just kept going like this. "Every time I spoke to one of the [people from] the club I felt like, 'this is the place I want to be' and so in the end I was really 100 percent convinced I want to join Liverpool and it was the best choice." Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.