Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou is hoping to bolster his side's defence with the signing of Wolfsburg centre-half Micky van de Ven.
What's the latest on Micky van de Ven to Tottenham?
The London outfit's desire for the Dutchman has been clear for the past several weeks, with Football Insider recently reporting that Spurs will battle against Premier League rivals Liverpool for his signature.
The indication is that Die Wölfe are willing to conduct business with suitors for a fee of around €30m (£26m), which could prompt Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy to instigate a move following the club's dismal 22/23 campaign.
Given that Van de Ven is a left-footed central defender, he is something of a rarity and would be a fantastic addition to a Spurs backline yearning for some inspiration and exuberance to dispel the present misfortune.
How good is Micky van de Ven?
Tottenham capitulated in the closing weeks of the 22/23 Premier League season, winning just four of their final 13 matches and hurtling away from Champions League contention to squander European qualification in its entirety.
The crux of the matter? The disastrous defensive displays; the Lilywhites shipped 63 league goals, a tally bettering only Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest and the three relegated outfits.
This is why Van de Ven's signing is so imperative to the club's progress, wiping away the cobwebs from a forgettable campaign and restoring the equilibrium at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
At just 22-years-old, the "complete" and "flourishing" defender – as hailed by journalist Ronan Murphy – has made his mark in the German Bundesliga and earned an average Sofascore rating of 6.85, keeping 11 clean sheets from 33 games, completing 88% of his passes, averaging 1.4 tackles per game and succeeding with 64% of his ground duels.
Such numbers are impressive, particularly when you consider only two defenders in the squad – Cristian Romero (2.5) and Clement Lenglet (1.5) managed more tackles per match last term.
The Netherlands U21 international is a burgeoning titan and would likely leave Eric Dier quaking in his boots if he were to arrive in London under Postecoglou's wing, with the 29-year-old culpable of producing poor performances over the past year.
Rebuked by journalist Ryan Taylor for being "nowhere near the required level that Spurs are trying to achieve", Dier has since made 361 appearances since signing from Sporting Lisbon for £4m in 2014.
Also said to be "not good enough" by pundit Darren Ambrose, Dier's ranking across metrics for progressive passing (bottom 40%) and ball-carrying (bottom 24%) could further leave him down in the pecking order, with Postecoglou favouring pass-proficient central defenders to complement his possession-based, free-flowing system.
And with Van de Ven ranking among the top 10% of centre-backs across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for progressive carries and the top 7% for successful take-ons per 90, as per FBref, he has the forward-thinking mentality to displace Dier, who also occupies the left side of the central defence.
That's not to mention his frightening pace either, with the centre-back clocking up a top speed of 35.97 km/h in the Bundesliga; a number that defeats even that of Son Heung-min's 34.4 km/h.
With journalist Jonathan Veal suggesting that Dier's "time is up" at Tottenham, it might be time to hoist him from his starting berth and provide Van de Ven with the license to cement a prominent role in an outfit craving a resurgence.