Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly made progress in talks over a deal for Wolfsburg defender Micky van de Ven and are close to reaching an agreement for the Dutchman.
Taking over a team who conceded 63 goals in the 2022-23 Premier League season, Ange Postecoglou is working to shore up the Lilywhites' leaky backline ahead of his debut campaign.
Spurs have already added Guglielmo Vicario to their goalkeeping department ahead of Hugo Lloris's expected exit, while Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison have penned permanent deals to reinforce the Lilywhites' attack.
Israeli winger Manor Solomon is also set to be announced as a Spurs player in the coming hours, and the North London club are now apparently intensifying their efforts to bring a new centre-back to the club.
Netherlands Under-21 international Van de Ven has seemingly been identified as a leading target, and the 22-year-old's agent recently talked up his client's chances of a move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
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Van de Ven is believed to have already agreed personal terms with Tottenham, but reports from Germany earlier this week alleged that Wolfsburg had upped their asking price from £30m to £40m, plunging a move into doubt.
Tottenham had purportedly shown no willingness to meet Wolfsburg's revised valuation, but according to Fabrizio Romano, Postecoglou's side are indeed close to wrapping up a deal for the centre-back.
Romano states that the two clubs held "really positive" talks on Monday, and if all goes to plan, Van de Ven could soon become Tottenham's fifth signing of the summer window.
The 6ft 4in defender came through the youth system at FC Volendam before signing for Wolfsburg in a €3.5m (£3m) deal two years ago, but he played just five times in his debut season.
However, Van de Ven became a regular starter under Niko Kovac in the 2022-23 season, contributing one goal and two assists from 36 matches across all competitions.
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Primarily a centre-back, Van de Ven has also been deployed on the left-hand side of the backline and has 11 caps to his name for the Netherlands Under-21 national team.
In that time, Van de Ven has helped his nation to seven clean sheets while conceding just four goals, and he played every minute of Jong Oranje's recent run at the Under-21 Euros, which ended in the group stage.
As well as Van de Ven, Tottenham are confirmed to be in talks with Barcelona over a permanent deal for Clement Lenglet, who was a regular fixture in Spurs' backline during last season's loan spell.
The arrivals of Lenglet and Van de Ven could trigger a couple of defensive exits in North London, and the out-of-favour Colombian Davinson Sanchez is expected to be one of the first names out of the door amid reports of a verbal offer from Galatasaray.
Japhet Tanganga, Joe Rodon and Eric Dier's futures are also clouded in uncertainty, but the latter - whose contract runs out in 2024 - supposedly wants to fight for his place under Postecoglou in the coming weeks.
Ben Knapton
