“I didn’t want to play in another PL club” – Tottenham star discusses decision to renew, feels he’s ‘made the right choice’

In the months leading up to the summer transfer window, there was a lot of speculation surrounding Toby Alderweireld and his Tottenham future.

The defender’s contract was initially up at the end of the 2019-20 season, and with no agreement being found until December 2019, speculation was rife.

Clubs like Manchester United, who needed a centre-back, were heavily linked, but they decided to make a move for Harry Maguire instead.

However, even if Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s club had made an adequate offer to Daniel Levy for the now 31-year-old, it appears Alderweireld wouldn’t have been interested in the move anyways.

In an interview with Sport/Foot Magazine in Belgium due to be published on Wednesday, the centre-back looked back at his rather long and tedious contract situation.

Embed from Getty Images

He said: “People thought that’s all I was thinking about but that wasn’t the case. Without being clever, I always had faith in me and knew that it would sort itself out. I was motivated because I knew that, the better I played, the more opportunities I would have, but I opted for loyalty and stability.

“I’ve always tried to make the right choices: I stayed a long time at Ajax, until I won something, before going further. Here too, I think I’ve made the right choice. I didn’t want to play in another club in the Premier League because I’ve built something here.

“I had played in Spain and Holland, and I preferred to stay than leave for a new adventure again, take my family with me. My challenge now is to do better here”.

The centre-back has been a stalwart at Spurs under both Mauricio Pochettino and José Mourinho this season, starting 36 games from a possible 42, as well as scoring one goal and picking up another two assists along the way.