Hands off, Liverpool! Thomas Frank publicly urges Tottenham to tie Micky van de Ven to new contract amid transfer interest from rival clubs

The 24-year-old’s asking price is said to have doubled since then, with Spurs making it clear that it would take a bid of around £100m ($135m) in order for them to consider entering into talks. That figure is intended to put off any would be suitors.

Van de Ven has been added to Spurs’ leadership group by Danish tactician Frank, and has been doing his bit to aid the collective cause with six goals being recorded this season from centre-half - with only Brazilian striker Richarlison registering more.

Unsurprisingly, the jet-heeled defender has been attracting admiring glances from afar. It has been claimed that Van de Ven is growing unsettled at Tottenham as they once again struggle for consistency and languish in the bottom-half of the Premier League table.

He still has three years left to run on his current contract, but Frank has suggested that fresh terms should be thrashed out as the likes of Liverpool are kept at bay.

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Contract call: Frank calls for Van de Ven talks

Spurs’ head coach has said: "He's very important for us, Micky is a Tottenham player now and for the future. He’s definitely a player we should prioritise. Definitely for me Micky is a key player for this team and this club and hopefully for many years to come. He has what it takes to be an even better player and I’ve no doubt he can help us to get us to where we want to be in the future."

He went on to say of the Dutch star’s mindset, with any talk of unhappiness creeping in being played down: "I just saw Micky today, he seems very happy, smiling. He was very happy after the game that we won [against Borussia Dortmund] when he was in the changing room after.

"Micky is an excellent player. He's a fantastic ambassador for this club. He has potentially had his best season so far. He's fit, he's strong, good defensively, he's growing as a leader, scoring goals as well. He's a very important player for us this season and for the future."

Liverpool are said to have Van de Ven on their radar after missing out on long-standing target Marc Guehi - with the England international leaving Crystal Palace for Manchester City in the January window.

The Reds are seeing Ibrahima Konate run his contract down towards free agency, while club captain Virgil van Dijk will turn 35 in the summer and is only tied to a deal through to 2027 - alongside Egyptian superstar Mohamed Salah.

Ex-Liverpool striker Stan Collymore told GOAL recently of changes that could be on the cards: "For the remainder of the season he [Salah] will play, but for Liverpool to go on and be Arne Slot 2.0, one or both of him and Van Dijk may well go in the summer.

"I know they signed longer, improved terms, but I almost think that was to see what the players like [Hugo] Ekitike, Isak, Wirtz were going to be like bedding in. It hasn’t been good at the moment, they need them for the remainder of the season, but I do think that if you are going to indulge Isak and Wirtz as the new top men at Liverpool, then the old top men have got to go.

"I think some of Mo’s mardiness has been around the fact that Isak and Wirtz come in and they get 6,000 tweets saying ‘welcome Wirtz, welcome Isak, you are the best thing since sliced bread’. I think he feels a little bit wounded and a little bit disrespected by that.

"The only answer is, can they all play together nicely or is the more likely option - and this is what I think - maybe Van Dijk stays one season longer, but I think Mo’s gone in the summertime, for sure."

Liverpool may like the look of Van de Ven, as a long-term solution to their impending issues at centre-half, but Spurs will not sanction a sale without a fight and the Reds could be forced to turn their attention elsewhere.