Van de Ven, who joined Spurs from Wolfsburg during the summer transfer window, is in contention to make his debut for the Netherlands and could potentially play alongside Virgil van Dijk.
This summer, Virgil van Dijk took on the dual role of captain, wearing the armband for both Liverpool and the Dutch national team (Oranje).
In his early appearances for Tottenham alongside Cristian Romero, Van de Ven has shown promise, earning him a place in Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands squad for their September qualifiers.
The Netherlands are set to host Greece in Eindhoven for a Euro 2024 qualifier on Thursday before facing the Republic of Ireland in Dublin on Sunday.
Speaking at a pre-match press conference, Van de Ven expressed his eagerness to learn from experienced defenders like Virgil van Dijk, Matthijs de Ligt, and Nathan Ake during his time with the national team.
“I train here with defenders like Virgil van Dijk, Matthijs de Ligt, and Nathan Ake,” he said, as reported by Dutch outlet NU and translated by football.london. “These are players with fantastic careers, and I can 100 percent learn something from them. I have traveled a special path, but it is far from over. Here I can get even better at Oranje.”
It’s clear that Van de Ven sees the opportunity to train alongside players of Virgil van Dijk’s caliber as a valuable learning experience, and he hopes to further develop his skills with the national team.
Virgil van Dijk, who reportedly earns £240,000 per week, is widely regarded as one of the best defenders in the world and has enjoyed an illustrious career, making significant contributions for both Liverpool and the Dutch national team. Van de Ven is at the beginning of his career and aspires to achieve a similar level of success in the future.