The current Tottenham squad has produced several surprises which even the club would not have predicted. The astonishing rise of players like Dele Alli and Harry Kane from being a relative unknown certainly ranks as one of the best. Up there with the progress made by the England internationals is defender Jan Vertonghen. The Belgian defender did not have the best of starts to his Tottenham career when he moved from Ajax in 2012. He was versatile and was used in the centre back and left back positions. Yet, he did not have strong performances in either position.
The arrival of his international teammate Toby Alderweireld has sparked such a remarkable comeback and it seems extremely difficult to drop Vertonghen right now. Recognising his importance within the squad, Tottenham reportedly offered him a new contract a few weeks ago. Vertonghen is thought to have been extremely happy at this move from the club. New reports from ESPN suggest that a deal could be finalised as early as next week with the player committing a long-term contract. Vertonghen dropped a huge hint over his future with the following words;
“It’s important that so many of us are signing new deals and all think the same about Tottenham — the way we want to stay together for years and believe in what we are doing here,”
“It is just great to be part of it.”
Vertonghen could not hide his delight with his performances being of the top order even when Alderweireld was unavailable for the Champions League game against Bayer Leverkusen. Spurs are very keen on extending the deal considering that the defender only has two years left on his current contract. At 29 years of age, it is highly unlikely that the new contract will be for more than three years. As Tottenham gear up to the next level, the club would also move in line with an approach taken by the rest of the top clubs when it comes to players approaching their 30’s.
The Belgian international was paired up alongside midfielder Eric Dier and the duo performed well to keep a clean sheet for a second consecutive European game. Even though Spurs may have returned with only a solitary point, it was the closer step towards qualification to the knockout stages. Tottenham successfully negotiated the group stages in their only previous outing in the Champions League. There is a strong possibility that they could even finish as the winners of the group containing Leverkusen and CSKA Moscow.
Vertonghen is not surprised that Spurs have been able to do well in the Premier league and the Champions League at the same time. Even though the club only made a limited number of signings in the summer, the Belgian reckons that they have one of the strongest squads around. According to ESPN, he said:
“I think the squad is as strong as any in the Premier League.
“Obviously, some other teams have exceptional talents, but we have them as well. It’s a sign that we can miss anyone and it shows the strength of the team.”
The squad strength will be tested to the limit over the next couple of weeks, as Spurs are just entering into a run of seven games over 23 days.
