Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven has revealed the heartbreaking reason why he chose to wear the number 37 shirt upon joining the club last summer.
The Dutchman has been a key player for Ange Postecoglou's side this season, shown by how much Spurs missed him when he was absent for two months with a hamstring injury.
Now back fully fit, Van de Ven has already slotted easily into the Spurs side that started the weekend in fourth place in the Premier League table.
When he arrived at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the Netherlands international opted not to take a more 'traditional' defensive shirt number, and instead decided to go with the number 37 instead.
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But he has now revealed that, rather than the number being his own personal favourite, it is instead the favourite of one of his friends, who passed away when the pair were younger.
He explained: "With a friend of mine, he passed away when we were younger, and it was always his favourite number.
"So when I had the opportunity to choose No.37 when I signed for Tottenham... to be honest, it's for him."
At previous club Wolfsburg, Van de Ven wore the number five shirt, having been assigned it when he joined from Dutch second tier side Volendam in 2021, where he wore number four.
There were a few raised eyebrows in pre-season when Spurs opted to hand some of their new signings 'temporary squad numbers' during the side's early games.
James Maddison, Manor Solomon and Destiny Udogie wore shirt numbers 71, 72 and 73 - although Spurs announced that an announcement would later follow regarding their official shirt numbers for the 2023/24 Premier League season.
Postecoglou's side take on Everton in the early kick-off on Saturday afternoon, having secured a thrilling 3-2 victory over Brentford during the midweek fixture schedule.
Topics: Tottenham Hotspur, Premier League, Ange Postecoglou
Ryan Smart