‘For Vertonghen, the cycle at Tottenham is about to end after eight years’.
That’s how Corriere dello Sport on Monday present to us the possibility of the Belgian moving to Inter in a relatively lengthy article in their print edition.
It’s nothing new, since Spurs fans, players and staff members alike have all known the 33-year-old will be running down his deal at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this summer to move on a free elsewhere.
He hasn’t made his choice yet, but a move to Italy appears to be the likeliest option, with clubs such as Fiorentina, AS Roma and Inter all after him.
The former of the three have been the most prevalent in the past week, but Corriere do bring back Inter into the mix with a bang, describing Vertonghen as a ‘luxury free agent who remains strongly on the Nerazzurri’s radars’.
The most prominent factor in all this, other than the fact he would cost no transfer fee, is his versatility, which is strongly highlighted by Italian newspaper.
Vertonghen would be coming in to replace Diego Godín, who never managed to adapt to Antonio Conte’s three-man backline, spending most of his previous time at Atlético Madrid playing in a four man defence.
For the Belgian, however, it makes no difference, and he’s seen as ‘the right man’ for the former Chelsea manager and an ‘ideal player’ to be placed on his ‘chessboard’.
Inter have such confidence in what Vertonghen could bring that they have now moved away from the ‘auction’ expected to take place for Hellas Verona’s Marash Kumbulla; a player they like but realise he still has a lot of work to do.
Not only that, but the veteran defender would once again be able to team up with Christian Eriksen, whom he spent a long time with in London, and Romelu Lukaku, his Belgium national teammate.
It certainly makes sense, but it will be Vertonghen’s decision, and it will probably come down to who can offer him the most game time.
At this point in a player’s career, that tends to be the case.
