Jermaine Jenas has told BBC Radio 5 Live that Manchester City should look at Tottenham Hotspur defender Jan Vertonghen.
The Belgium international is coming to the end of his time at Tottenham and it doesn’t look like he’ll be offered a new deal.
Vertonghen has been an ever-present figure for Spurs since joining in the summer of 2012, but the 33-year-old has barely featured under Jose Mourinho this calendar year – even before the global health crisis – and an exit from North London at the end of this season is happening.
The former Ajax star has previously indicated recently that he has options on the table, and former Lilywhites midfielder Jenas believes that Pep Guardiola should pick him up for free as a squad player – a suggestion that Gabby Agbonlahor wasn’t buying.
Jenas said: “One of the big signings I think they should go and get – and it’s a no-brainer for me – is Jan Vertonghen. They need a centre-half and he’s free.”
Agbonlahor cut in: “Come on JJ. You can’t be serious. He can’t run!”
Jenas added: “What you’re forgetting is that he hasn’t played consecutively for a number of years. He’s at a football club where he’s not happy. You drop him into a Pep Guardiola side that dominate the ball in every single game. And by the way I’m talking about back-up here; I’m not talking about replacing Laporte.”
Is this a good idea? It’s not a bad one from City’s perspective, but Vertonghen has already been on a bench for most of this season.
And at his age, does he want to spend the twilight of his career as a back-up? Probably not.
Vertonghen’s going to want to play football regularly and there’s no chance of that happening at the Etihad.
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