Tottenham defender Toby Alderweireld has rejected a move to Club Brugge, with him determined to remain in London after Jose Mourinho’s sacking.
That’s according to Voetbal 24, who say the Belgian club were ‘deceived’ into thinking they could bring Alderweireld back to his homeland.
Voetbal explain that with each transfer window Club Brugge aim a ‘little higher’, having managed to lure players like Simon Mignolet and Noa Lang in the past.
That had led them to try and sign Alderweireld from Tottenham this summer, the player’s lack of game time, and his comments in interviews that he does not want to play abroad for much longer gave them hope they could get it done.
These things were ‘music to the ears’ of Brugge president Bart Verhaeghe and they ‘thought they had a chance’ of getting the 32-year-old.
However, that hoped turned out to be a ‘disaster’ as, when they approached the Tottenham man, he let it be known via intermediaries that he is ‘currently not open’ to a move to Belgium.
That’s especially the case after Mourinho’s sacking as Alderweireld wants to ‘take his chances’ at Tottenham now the Portuguese boss has gone.
The defender is ‘convinced’ he is still good enough to be a regular at Spurs, and only when it becomes clear that he can ‘no longer keep up’ will he take a step backwards.
It’s ‘written in the stars’ that he will play closer to home at some point, but that remains an aim for the future right now, with Brugge perhaps making a move in future instead.
