Tottenham have no plans to allow Micky van de Ven to leave, with the club planning contract talks with the defender.
The Netherlands international has three and a half years left on his current deal, which expires in the summer of 2029.
But Tottenham’s intention is to sit down with Van de Ven’s representatives to discuss an improved contract.
As yet, there have been no formal talks.
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Van de Ven scored twice in the win at Everton this season
Reports emerged on Thursday that the 24-year-old is pushing for a summer move away from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Questioned on the club reportedly placing a £100m-plus price tag on Van de Ven, Thomas Frank replied at his news conference on Thursday: “He’s very important for us, so Micky’s a Tottenham player now and for the future.”
Quizzed on reports Van de Ven is unhappy at Spurs, Frank responded: “I’ve just seen Micky today. He seems very happy, smiling. He was very happy after the game that we won when he was in the changing room after the game.
“Micky’s an excellent player; he’s a fantastic ambassador for this club.
“He’s having potentially his best season so far. He’s fit, he’s strong, good defensively, he’s growing as a leader, scoring goals as well, and he’s a very important player for us this season and for the future.”
Van de Ven has established himself as one of Tottenham’s star players since joining from Wolfsburg in August 2023 in a £43m deal.
He has also become a fans’ favourite, playing a key role in Spurs’ Europa League triumph last season as he made a vital acrobatic goal-line clearance to help earn them a 1-0 final win over Manchester United in Bilbao.
Van de Ven has enjoyed an injury-free campaign this season, scoring six goals across 29 appearances in all competitions.
Van de Ven set to return for crunch Burnley clash
Van de Ven is under contract at Spurs until the summer of 2029
Van de Ven will return for Saturday’s Premier League trip to Burnley after he was suspended for the midweek Champions League home win over Borussia Dortmund, which relieved some pressure on head coach Frank.
Spurs go to Turf Moor sitting 14th in the table and currently on course to miss out on European football.
But Frank’s options remain limited with Lucas Bergvall ruled out for the foreseeable future with an ankle injury.
Joao Palhinha is also a doubt for the visit to second-bottom Burnley, while Spurs remain without Ben Davies, Rodrigo Bentancur, James Maddison, Mohammed Kudus, Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison.
It was a similar story for Frank’s predecessor Ange Postecoglou and led to the current Spurs boss joking they must be cursed.
“My third year in the Premier League with Brentford we also had a horrendous year which impacted massively on the season, unfortunately, so this is definitely one of the things,” Frank said.
“Then we know there’s a lot of contact injuries. The Bergvall one, how unlucky is that? There was another contact injury, Joao, there were a few situations, Kudus.
“Some of them are like, ‘okay, what’s happening here?’ It seems like we are cursed or something like that. But injuries are a part of football.”
Under-pressure Frank reveals another lunch with Spurs hierarchy
Frank also revealed on Thursday that he again had lunch with Nick Beucher, who is the influential son-in-law of Spurs co-owner Vivienne Lewis.
Beucher joined chief executive Vinai Venkatesham, sporting director Johan Lange and Frank for lunch on Monday when the future of the Tottenham head coach was under the microscope.
Frank revealed: “Had lunch with Nick and Johan again today, so I think it’s again a good sign of that support there is.
“Nick was here this week. That was planned five weeks ago, so that’s normal if he’s over that we have lunch when two days he’s at the training ground.”
Asked about Beucher and other key figures, Frank explained: “I think the most visible ones are Vivienne [Lewis], Nick and then [non-executive chairman] Peter Charrington.
“All three are very determined, focused to do everything they can so that this club has success.”
