Toby Alderweireld’s situation at Tottenham is getting a lot of coverage in Belgium during the current international break.
On Tuesday we covered a story from HLN which said Spurs have pulled back from contract talks because they weren’t getting anywhere. Alderweireld is said to want around €180m a week and Tottenham aren’t prepared to go above €120k.
The defender’s future at Tottenham was thrown into serious doubt and it was claimed Daniel Levy is looking to do a deal around €50m this summer.
Wednesday’s edition of Het Nieuwsblad brings up PSG interest. They don’t credit any English reports and it’s presented as their own information.
It’s stated Alderweireld’s entourage are ‘unaware’ right now what Tottenham plan to do, which doesn’t sit comfortably with all the other claims. Surely those who represent the defender would know that Tottenham pulling out of contract talks makes a sale a reasonable possibility, and surely if they were in the dark they’d have asked.
Het Nieuwsblad say Daniel Levy ‘seems to be steering’ the situation towards a summer auction between ‘several top clubs’.
It could be said the Belgian media ‘seems to be steering’ the Alderweireld story into one where Levy’s thirst for a big transfer fee is being presented as the overriding factor.
PSG interest hasn’t been seriously or repeatedly reported in France, which one would expect if the interest was genuine. Despite that, there’s every chance they’d consider a move if Tottenham make the defender available.
Thiago Silva is in the winter of his career, and then there’s Marquinhos and Presnel Kimpembe, so adding another senior central defender is a possibility. Whether they’d want to pay €50m+ for a 29 year old and hand out €180k+ a week on a likely four year contract could be questioned given their ongoing FFP struggles.
It’s not looking good right now for Alderweireld staying at Tottenham, because whoever is briefing the Belgian, and English, media is clearly presenting the case as one where Spurs have had enough and are now almost eager to sell.
There’s been suggestions Mauricio Pochettino hasn’t been, and won’t be, giving Alderweireld all the games he can play because of the contract situation rather than fitness issues.
This is fast become ‘Alderweireld v Tottenham’ and that doesn’t sound like it’d come with a happy ending.
