Liverpool 'pull out of Micky van de Ven race'

The 22-year-old enjoyed a breakthrough season for the German outfit last term, starting 33 matches in the Bundesliga as Niko Kovac's men finished eighth, missing out on European football.

Van de Ven began his senior career in the Dutch second tier with FC Volendam, before making the switch to the Volkswagen Arena in the summer of 2021 for a fee of around £3m.

The centre-back has been on international duty for the majority of the summer, although he was unable to help Netherlands Under-21s reach the knockout stages of the European Championships in Georgia, with Erwin van de Looi's side collecting just three points from as many group matches.

Although a move to the Premier League is still a possibility for Van de Ven, any switch will not be to Liverpool - according to Football.London - after the Merseyside club withdrew their interest in the player.

It is understood that Jurgen Klopp and the Reds' new director football Jorg Schmadtke recently sat down for transfer talks as the club look to climb back into the top four next season.

One of the topics of discussion was said to be Wolfsburg's Van de Ven, with Klopp and Schmadtke agreeing that the club should cool their interest in the defender.

Such developments will be music to the ears of Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur, as they are said to be very keen on bringing the Dutchman to North London.

It is believed that the Lilywhites are close to agreeing a deal with Wolfsburg for the centre-back, although the two clubs have reportedly disagreed over the transfer fee during the past few weeks.

Ange Postecoglou has also highlighted Borussia Monchengladbach's Ko Itakura as a defender who could improve the Spurs backline, although it is understood that Van de Ven is the Australia's number-one target.

The North Londoners conceded 63 goals in 38 Premier League matches last term, with only five sides in the division allowing more strikes past them in 2022-23.

An over-reliance on Harry Kane and Son Heung-min in attacking areas is also set to be addressed in this summer's transfer window, with Spurs already securing the services of James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski from Leicester City and Juventus respectively.

Liverpool are yet to make any additions to their defensive ranks amid their departure from the race for Van de Ven, however the Reds have strengthened significantly in more advanced areas, bringing in Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai.

Klopp currently has Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez as centre-back options ahead of the 2023-24 season, and it remains to be seen whether the German feels he needs to bolster that department before the window slams shut.