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10 facts about new Tottenham Hotspur signing Jan Vertonghen

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Tottenham Hotspur have clinched the signing of Vertonghen, subject to a medical.

What can we tell you about the club’s next star?

Here are 10 facts about him…

1) Vertonghen is a 25-year-old centre-back who has signed from Dutch side Ajax.

2) He was the Ajax club captain, following in the footsteps of the illustrious Johann Cruyff.

3) He is a Belgian international, winning 38 caps to date, the most recent one coming at Wembley against England in June.

4) Tottenham will hope he can continue his eye for goal. He scored eight times for Ajax last season.

5) He follows Ruud Gullit, Ronald Koeman, Dennis Bergkamp, Luis Suarez, and er… Afonso Alves amongst others, when he was awarded the Eredivisie Player of the Year Award last season.

6) As well as playing in defence, Vertonghen can play in midfield too, giving Spurs an extra option.

7) Vertonghen’s breakthrough at Ajax was delayed by the presence of another Belgian, Thomas Vermaelen, now an arch rival for Arsenal.

8) He was a member of Belgium’s 2008 Olympic squad in Beijing, playing every game as the nation finished in fourth place.

9) His former managers include an ex-Tottenham boss, Martin Jol, who coached him at Ajax and was a big fan of the defender.

10) Back in 2006 Vertonghen scored a bizarre goal when trying to pass the ball to the opposition goalkeeper when a player was down injured. To compensate, Ajax allowed the opposition a free run to score one back in the spirit of fair play. Watch it below.

Will Vertonghen prove to be a good signing for Spurs?

images: © myeralan, © sachab