In what could come as shocking news for Tottenham fans, the club are reportedly willing to listen to offers for defender Toby Alderweireld in the summer after the contract talks came to a halt. The 29-year-old has recently returned from a hamstring problem and has so far been restricted to FA Cup appearances against Newport County and Rochdale.
The Times claims that the Belgian defender had demanded a deal worth £150,000-a-week and Spurs have no intention of agreeing to the player’s demands. Instead, the club are willing to explore the possibility of selling Alderweireld, who turns 29 next week.
Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino has apparently given the club a go-ahead as the head coach accepts the club’s strict wage structure and would rather use that chunk of money to solidify other areas of the squad.
The report adds that Tottenham had tabled a final offer of £110,000-a-week including bonuses that would have made him one of the highest paid players at the club. But the experienced centre-back has so far not accepted that offer, forcing the club to think of a controversial summer sale.
Alderweireld, who will be out of contract in June 2019, is being reportedly tracked by Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea.
The Belgian has a strange clause in his contract with Spurs and if the North Londoners activate a one-year extension after next term, the player would have a £25.4 million release clause active for 14 days.
So realistically, the end of this season provides Spurs with a genuine chance to achieve Alderweireld’s full market value, which is reportedly estimated to be more than £50million.
The former Ajax centre-back’s bizarre contract situation could force Spurs into pulling the trigger of selling him. Certainly, Spurs, if given a chance, wouldn’t want to sell Alderweireld, who has developed into one of the best defenders in the Premier League since joining the club in 2015 from Atletico Madrid.
Above all, Spurs have also started negotiations over a new deal with Christian Eriksen and Son Heung-min but cannot afford to pay them all in excess of £150,000-a-week.
As far as Alderweireld is concerned, it would come as a big blow if Spurs do decide to sell him at the end of the season. He has forged a brilliant partnership with compatriot Jan Vertonghen in defence and selling him would be a huge mistake in my opinion.
Tough call to be sure. I would like to see Levy loosen the purse strings a bit, but that would just open the floodgates. Poch seems to go along with their business model and you don’t get much more successful than the head honcho, Joe Lewis.