Jan Vertonghen says he is relaxed about the future of his Tottenham and Belgium teammate Toby Alderweireld.
Spurs have offered Alderweireld a new contract, but talks have reportedly broken down – the defender is apparently keen to become the club’s highest earner.
Alderweireld’s contract expires at the end of next season, and Tottenham have the option to extend his deal by one year.
However, extending it would trigger a £25 million release clause, so there are suggestions Spurs will look to sell the 29-year-old this summer if he refuses to sign the new contract.
Such speculation has led to plenty of alleged interest from clubs across Europe, including Manchester United, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.
But Vertonghen, who has played in the same backline as Alderweireld for Ajax, Spurs and Belgium, insists there is “no stress” over the future of his compatriot.
“Whenever we play we understand each other. When I left for Tottenham, Toby left for Atletico [Madrid] and Southampton but we found each other quite quick after that, so no stress,” Vertonghen told Sky Sports.
“We’ve been playing together for a long time and we know how to play together, but I don’t want to speak about this because it might sound disrespectful to whoever is playing next to me or next to Toby in other situations.”
Tottenham have been linked with a number of potential replacements in recent weeks, but most supporters would prefer to see Alderweireld stay. Whether that will happen remains to be seen.
Please stop with this nonsense. It appears that the world and it’s mother is making out that Alderweireld is the greatest centre half of all time. He isn’t and if he were to leave Spurs, bearing in mind that his contract expires in 2020 when he’ll be 31 years of age, it wont be the end of the world as we know it. When you consider that he doesn’t even play centre back for his national team speaks volumes, they use him at right back. You’ve got to ask yourself a couple of questions. Why was Athletico Madrid the only club interested in his signature whilst he was at Ajax. He hardly got a kick at Athletico who realised that they had made a mistake and promptly sold him to……….SOUTHAMPTON !!! Not Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, PSG, Manure, Citah, Chelsea or Liverpool, all now being touted for his signature. Not one of those clubs showed any interest in the player. It wasn’t until he came to Spurs to work under Pochettino that he started to gain attention. Last season the Spurs defence was considered the best in the league. Now the nonces in the media are suggesting that he’s the greatest thing since sliced bread because he had one good season for the club and will leave a great big hole in the defence should he leave. Bullshit.
No doubt that Aderweireld performed very well for Spurs last season partnering Jan in the centre of defence alongside Walker and Rose but, he’s hardly been missed this season whilst out with injury. Obviously Aderweireld hasn’t become a bad player overnight however, young Sanchez has come in and done a sterling job, going from strength to strength week after week under Pochettino’s guidance. Lets be clear here, the manager isn’t going to take him out the team to accommodate Aderweireld anytime soon and risk hampering the youngster’s development unless he picks up an injury. If Aderweireld’s representative is asking for silly money as it’s likely to be his clients last professional contract at the highest level, perhaps the two sides can come to a compromise solution.
??????
Well said, as I have quoted many times, get rid of the greedy bastard, bad for the team spirit, and short arsed Rose. Alderweireld proved how bad he can play the last game he played for us. He was absolutely awful against a rubbish team in FA cup. Forget all of the crap and sell the idiot. COYS