Anfield legend Robbie Fowler believes his former club Liverpool should ‘have a look’ at signing Micky van de Ven from Tottenham.
Liverpool fans are sweating over the future of star defender and club captain Virgil van Dijk, who will be out of contract come the summer.
Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold have also entered the final six months of their contracts at Anfield, with Liverpool keen to get at least one of the trio to extend their stay on Merseyside.
But the Reds must at least begin to think about life after Van Dijk and their former striker Fowler believes Van de Ven could be an ideal replacement.
Van de Ven has enjoyed an impressive if injury-prone spell at Tottenham since his £43m move from Bundesliga outfit Wolfsburg in 2023.
The 23-year-old, who is currently out injured and missed Sunday’s much-needed victory over Manchester United, has established himself as one of the best centre-backs in the Premier League over the past 18 months.
Fowler reckons the Netherlands international would ‘look right in a Liverpool shirt’ and could be the man to replace Van Dijk should he depart Anfield this summer.
Ex-England striker Fowler named Bournemouth’s Dean Huijsen as another option for Liverpool as they brace themselves for an important summer given the possible high-profile departures.
‘When it comes to potentially replacing Virgil van Dijk, I’m a big fan of both Dean Huijsen at Bournemouth and Micky van de Ven at Tottenham,’ Fowler told BoyleSports.
‘Having said that, we are talking about players who are not as good as Van Dijk, he is the absolute stand out in the Premier League and all effort should be made to keep him at the club.
‘As a football fan you want your club to keep improving and keep signing good valuable players, but first of all it’s about keeping your best players at the club.
‘He is a Rolls Royce of a player and I do think that the game looks too easy for him at times, he is a tremendous player and a tremendous leader. We’re in the realms of just giving him what he wants to ensure he stays.
‘There are good players out there but no one as good as him, if he does go then it should be someone that knows the Premier League.
‘Someone who knows the speed and the intensity. But replacing Van Dijk with anyone is a gamble.
‘I’m the sort of fan that thinks if you’re not out there signing good players then you’re slipping behind the competition and are slipping backwards.
‘If you’re not doing that and improving the squad you can plateau. When it comes to Micky van de Ven, he’s a very, very good player despite having his injury problems.
‘I think he is strong, fast and I think he would look right in a Liverpool shirt. I know Tottenham fans won’t want to hear that but it’s a compliment to him as a player that I think the league leaders should have a look at him.’
Tottenham have struggled to cope with their long injury list in recent weeks but beat Manchester United 1-0 thanks to James Maddison’s first-half goal.
Van Dijk and Liverpool were also in action on Sunday, beating Wolves 2-1 to move seven points above Premier League title rivals Arsenal, who won earlier in the weekend.
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