Tottenham are reportedly ready to listen to offers for Toby Alderweireld this summer after a breakdown in contract talks.
According to a Times exclusive, the club have been unable to agree a new deal with their 2015/16 Player of the Year and there is now a realistic chance he will be sold at the end of the season.
News of the Belgian’s potential departure has not come out of nowhere, as a series of complex clauses have made negotiations difficult for some time.
It’s suggested that Alderweireld, who is recognised as one of the best centre-backs in the world, rejected a final offer of £110,000 a week, with Spurs unwilling to go any higher for a defender who will be 29 in less than a fortnight.
Barely a day goes by without some sort of discussion of Tottenham’s star men leaving. The exodus that many have predicted is yet to take place, but after Kyle Walker’s £50million move to Manchester City in July 2017, their fans will not want to see another big name head for the door.
That said, Daniel Levy is willingly walking a tightrope when it comes to wages and it would set an altogether different precedent if he were to give into Alderweireld’s supposed demands of £150,000 a week.
The pros of letting him go
Spurs have already had a taste of life without the former Southampton man. Their recent unbeaten run against Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, and Juventus was all achieved without him.
It wouldn’t be unreasonable for him to be given the same message as Danny Rose was in the summer – that a player who has just been out for a lengthy period has not done enough to warrant a lucrative new contract. Alderweireld suffered a hamstring injury in the 3-1 win over Real Madrid in November and did not return until this month.
Next summer, he would be available to leave for £25million, which is not enough to reinvest in a replacement. Pochettino has already been building for the future by bringing in Davinson Sanchez, who bar a few shaky displays, has looked solid. Juan Foyth has also played in the cups.
Regardless of whether Alderweireld is worth £150,000 a week – which, by today’s standards, there is no doubt that he is – giving him that kind of money would undoubtedly mean having to reassess the salaries of several other first teamers. As it stands, only Harry Kane and Hugo Lloris have breached the £100,000 a week mark, and that in itself was a major breakthrough in Levy’s strict policy. To put those wages in context, Christian Benteke is thought to earn £120,000 a week at Crystal Palace, Jermain Defoe is on £130,000 a week at Bournemouth, and Wilfried Bony picks up £100,000 a week at Swansea – never mind the other top six clubs.
If you can shell out £30m for Sissoko surely you can pay the man what he wants!
#COYS
The cons
While Spurs want to be in control of the defender’s destiny, if they could persuade him to stay for another year, that could buy themselves more time to sort his contract out.
His performance in the 2-2 draw with Rochdale vindicated Pochettino’s declaration that he wasn’t ready to face Arsenal or Juventus, but it doesn’t change the fact that other than Kane, there are few more consistent players in the squad. The partnership with fellow Belgian international Jan Vertonghen at the back has been simply invaluable.
What is particularly worrying is the notion that he is no longer on board with Spurs’ vision. Walker and Rose both showed indications they were not buying into it and the more players that are allowed to bail, the harder it could become to convince the likes of Kane, Dele Alli, and Christian Eriksen, to stay.
Where would he go?
There will be no shortage of suitors and Levy would prefer to sell abroad. If Alderweireld were to leave at the end of the current season, the situation would be in the club’s hands. A year later, then Manchester United, Chelsea, and even Arsenal could enter the fray. It is easy to conceive of any of those three sides being on the hunt for a new centre-back but with Spurs already having sold Walker to Manchester City, they would not want to strengthen a rival again.
Losing Alderweireld would be bad enough, but more damningly, it would epitomise a lack of ambition – and that is what will worry Spurs fans all the more.
