‘How did they not spot him?’ – Schmeichel stunned Man Utd didn’t look at signing £35m star

Peter Schmeichel has picked out Micky van de Ven for special praise and questioned why the defender was not on Manchester United’s radar before he joined Tottenham.

Van de Ven is enjoying his third full season with Tottenham having completed a move from Wolfsburg for a fee of around £35million back in 2023.

In that time, the 24-year-old centre-back has made 81 appearances in all competitions for Spurs while helping the club end their painful 17-year wait for silverware in the Europa League last term.

Despite Tottenham’s lowly position this season, Van de Ven continues to earn himself plenty of admirers with his performances at the heart of Thomas Frank’s defence alongside Cristian Romero.

However, the Netherlands international has been forced to sit out Spurs’ last two matches through injury.

Though Van de Ven missed Sunday’s fightback against Manchester City, the Dutchman’s prominence is such that he was one of the main topics of conversation amongst Viaplay’s punditry team ahead of kick-off.

According to Schmeichel, Van de Ven’s ‘great instincts’ and ‘speed’ make him a vitally important figure for Tottenham and the side’s success going forward.

‘I think he is a fantastic player,’ the legendary former Manchester United goalkeeper said.

‘I think he’s got really, really great instincts, I think his pace, his speed, is so valuable if you want to play attacking football.

‘Playing attacking football, you have to be further up the pitch and that means that anything in this area has got to be dealt with, if it happens between the goalkeeper and the centre-half.

‘If you’ve got slow centre-backs then it is very difficult to play like that.’

Schmeichel finds himself baffled that a player of Van de Ven’s obvious ability wasn’t being tracked by the likes of United and Liverpool before he signed for Spurs.

‘I think he’s been a revelation,’ the Dane added.

‘I kind of think sometimes that a club like Manchester United or even Liverpool, the defending champions, they’re looking [for that player].

‘How did they not spot this guy?! He’s a fantastic player.’

Van de Ven could have the perfect opportunity to impress United next weekend when Tottenham face off against the in-form Red Devils at Old Trafford.

Facing the media after Spurs’ 2-2 draw with City, Frank reassured supporters that Van de Ven’s injury was only ‘minor’.

‘Micky is a minor one,’ he told reporters shortly after the final whistle at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

‘I fully expect him to be available for Manchester United, he just couldn’t make it for this game unfortunately.’

Asked about Kevin Danso’s fitness, Frank explained: ‘He hyper-extended his big toe when he landed on the foot of an opponent against Frankfurt.

‘That means the ligament snapped in the big toe. It’s extremely unlucky.

‘We don’t know the length of it but we have an appointment next week where we can clarify that and Djed [Spence] has a minor calf injury. I hope Djed is not too long out.’

There was also some concern surrounding Spurs captain Cristian Romero, who was forced off at half-time against City, but the Argentine confirmed he was ‘okay’ after the game.

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.