Tottenham defender Toby Alderweireld is close to signing a new 5-year contract with the club, according to reports
According to the Daily Mail, both Tottenham and Alderweireld along with his representatives are “growing increasingly confident” that an agreement will be reached sooner rather than later, with a new five-year contract worth around £75,000-per-week close to being agreed.
Alderweireld currently has a £25 million release clause in his contract – an amount that is far below his actual value – and Spurs have been keen on tying the Belgian defender down to a new contract in order to erase the risk of losing him for so little for a long time now.
The Daily Mail claim that rival clubs can trigger the Belgian’s clause in the summer of 2019, if Tottenham take up a one year option to extend his deal to 2020. Although Spurs are not at risk of losing him right away, the club are still keen on removing that clause altogether with a new contract.
Alderweireld joined Tottenham from Atletico Madrid in a £11.5 million deal back in 2015 under somewhat controversial circumstances. Southampton – who had the player on loan the season before – were considering legal action against Atletico who reneged on a £6.8m agreement with the club.
He has since gone on to establish himself as one of the finest defenders in both the Premier League and in Europe. The 27-year old has formed a great understanding with his compatriot Jan Vertonghen and has been the key to Tottenham’s impressive performances over the last couple of years.
The move to tie Alderweireld down comes as no surprise, as Tottenham have been tying down a number of key players to long-term contracts over the last few months as Mauricio Pochettino looks to continue transforming this side into regular title challengers.
Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Hugo Lloris have all already signed new contracts with the club this season and Pochettino will be glad to see that it is just a matter of time before Alderweireld does the same thing.
At 27, the Belgian international still has several years left at the top and has shown already that he is a world-class defender. If Tottenham want to continue their impressive rise to becoming one of the elite Premier League clubs, they definitely need to hold on to the Belgian.
