There are transfer stories that have genuine substance, and there are transfer stories that fill a slow news day. The Micky van de Ven to Liverpool narrative always sat firmly in the second category, and the defender himself has now made clear he is not going anywhere.

Van de Ven has been speaking to British media during Tottenham's pre-season tour of Australia, and his message was unmistakable. He is bought in to the project being built at Spurs. Completely. And while Liverpool's name has cropped up in the background noise surrounding his future, the Echo understands the Reds never actually pursued any concrete interest in the Dutch centre-back. It was a rumour, not a reality.

So what is the reality at Tottenham right now? Quite a lot, actually. After one of the most turbulent seasons in the club's recent history, one which saw them finish 17th in the Premier League and only avoid relegation on the final day, the Lewis family have responded with something approaching shock therapy. Two hundred and thirty-seven million pounds spent in a single summer. Their transfer record broken not once but twice, firstly with the £85m acquisition of midfielder Mateus Fernandes, then surpassed almost immediately by a £100m package to bring Sandro Tonali down from Newcastle. Six new arrivals in total. A statement of intent you cannot really ignore.

Van de Ven has noticed. "It's really good that you can see the club has made some changes," he told the assembled media in Australia. "They have brought a really good new manager, in my opinion, and some really good new signings. You can see the club has new ambition. It's something that's really important for players that have been there for a long time."

That new manager is Roberto De Zerbi, hired in March after what can only be described as a managerial carousel of the most chaotic variety. Long-serving chairman Daniel Levy had already departed in September, months after Spurs ended a 17-year trophy drought with Europa League glory. His exit was followed by a sharp decline in form, Thomas Frank was dismissed in February, and interim replacement Igor Tudor survived just seven matches before the club turned to De Zerbi as the man to reset everything.

Van de Ven clearly likes what he sees in the Italian's approach. "It's going to be different compared to the former manager we had last season," the defender said. "It's going to be more with the ball, more playing football. I think it's going to be more enjoyable for people to watch playing offensive football."

With Vinai Venkatesham now installed as chief executive and tasked with the broader turnaround of a club that has felt rudderless for much of the past couple of seasons, there does appear to be a more coherent structure emerging at Spurs. Whether it translates into actually competing for European places remains to be seen, but Van de Ven is clear about the target. "Spurs is a team that needs to play Europe every year, so obviously the European spots are something we are going to aim for. The most important thing is we play our football and that we are a difficult team to play against."

From a Liverpool perspective, this story is really about what it was not rather than what it was. The Reds were never in the market for Van de Ven in any meaningful sense. The links existed in the way that links to a talented defender at a struggling club tend to exist. Clickable. Vaguely plausible. But not grounded in genuine pursuit.

Liverpool's defensive recruitment priorities, if any exist this summer, lie elsewhere. And a player speaking with this level of enthusiasm about the project he is part of was never going to be easily prised away regardless.

Spurs look like a club that has genuinely taken stock of how badly things went and responded with purpose. Whether De Zerbi can turn all that investment and optimism into Premier League points against proper competition is the question that matters. For Liverpool, the more interesting question is what their own summer still holds.