Tottenham Hotspur defender Toby Alderweireld looks set for a summer exit.
According to the Daily Mail, Tottenham Hotspur are refusing to accept Toby Alderweireld’s demands of a five-year contract because he is already 29 – and a summer exit looks more and more likely.
Spurs swooped to sign Alderweireld from Atletico Madrid in 2015, and he has become one of Europe’s top centre backs during his time with Tottenham, forming a superb partnership with Belgian international teammate Jan Vertonghen in the heart of Mauricio Pochettino’s defence.
However, Alderweireld now wants to be paid like one of Europe’s top defenders, and Spurs are reportedly unwilling to match his demands of nearly £200,000-a-week, as that’s around double the club’s current wage ceiling.
It’s added that Alderweireld wants a five-year contract, but Spurs won’t offer that due to the fact that he is 29, making a summer exit more and more likely.
The report even notes that Pochettino has told Alderweireld that he can leave this summer, and has left the situation in the hands of chairman Daniel Levy, with Paris Saint-Germain allegedly willing to meet Alderweireld’s demands.
Spurs fans will loathe to see Alderweireld leave having been a huge part of their defensive stability under Pochettino, and some may be worried about a trend of losing star players having seen Kyle Walker leave for Manchester City last summer.
However, Spurs will absolutely have no plans to pay anybody £200,000-a-week, much less a player approaching 30, and given the £25million release clause in Alderweireld’s deal which can be activated for a short time in the summer of 2019, a summer parting of the way seems ideal as Spurs can still control the fee they will receive.
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