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Spurs could still sign either of the centre-backs, who have both been approved by head coach Ange Postecoglou, although Van de Ven is now the likelier addition.
Talks with Wolfsburg over the Dutch Under-21 international have been ongoing for weeks but Spurs are increasingly confident of agreeing a package which is expected to be worth around £30million.
Personal terms with the left-footed 22-year-old, who has also attracted interest from Liverpool, are expected to be a formality.
Spurs are also continuing talks with Leverkusen for £40m-rated Tapsoba but remain some way apart from the German club’s valuation of the 24-year-old Burkino Faso international.
Signing two senior centre-backs this summer has not been ruled out by Spurs, although they are still to offload the likes of Davinson Sanchez and Joe Rodon, who are among the squad players to be have been told they can find a new club.
Ashley Phillips, Blackburn’s highly-rated teenage centre-back, is expected to sign once a £2m release clause kicks into his contract this weekend, although the 19-year-old is considered a player for the future.
Spurs are open to offers for Hugo Lloris, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Tanguy Ndombele and Bryan Gil, among others, although Gil is expected to be sidelined for around two months following groin surgery which may limit him to a loan move.
The club’s summer business, which is dominated by the question of Harry Kane’s uncertain future, is being led by chairman Daniel Levy, Postecoglou and chief scout Leonardo Gabbanini, with Spurs still actively hunting for a new director of football and no start date yet announced for incoming chief football officer, Scott Munn.
