Alan Smith has told The Football Show on Sky Sports that he doesn’t think Jose Mourinho will be too fussed if Jan Vertonghen decides to leave Tottenham Hotspur.
Recent reports have claimed that Vertonghen may opt not to extend his contract at Spurs beyond June 30th, which means he may have already played his last game for the club.
Although Spurs are thought to be happy to keep him, Sky claim that Vertonghen has fears over playing, as if he picks up an injury, that could scupper a summer move.
The Belgian does not appear likely to receive a long-term contract extension at Tottenham, even though they are happy to keep him until the end of the campaign.
And Smith can see why Vertonghen wouldn’t want to risk playing again.
“In terms of Vertonghen he’s 33, his best form is behind him, certainly for Tottenham, we’ve seen that this season,” Smith said.
“Jose Mourinho won’t be overly fussed if he’s not available or his mind is elsewhere.
“You can understand if he doesn’t want to jeopardise a potential move. He wants to elongate his career in another country. I would suspect he wouldn’t want to ruin any move coming up, maybe not even in the starting 11.”
Vertonghen has slipped way down the pecking order at Tottenham this term, with plenty of other options ahead of him.
The experienced defender has looked cumbersome when he has been picked, and seems to have lost a yard of pace.
Eric Dier, Davinson Sanchez, Toby Alderweireld and Japhet Tanganga now all appear to be ahead of Vertonghen in Mourinho’s selection order at the moment.
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