Chelsea are reportedly plotting a £45 million summer bid for Tottenham contract rebel Toby Alderweireld, who is also a target for Manchester United.
According to The Sun, Toby Alderweireld is the subject of interest from Chelsea, with the Tottenham contract rebel set to be offloaded by the club in the summer. The Blues are plotting a £45 million summer bid for the Belgian but will face tough competition from Manchester United and several other top European clubs.
Toby Alderweireld had already stamped his presence in the Premier League during his season-long loan at Southampton. But, it was Tottenham who were the first to his signature and the Belgian has since established himself as one of the best defenders in the league while also becoming a mainstay in the Belgian National setup as well.
But, of late, the allegiance has taken a somewhat ugly turn. Alderweireld’s contract is set to expire in 2019 with a one-year extension option at the behest of the club. But, the Belgian has been unwilling to commit to a new deal, with many of Spurs players deemed to be unhappy with the gulf of wages between star players in other top teams in the Premier League and their own.
[@MailSport] understand Tottenham Hotspur are preparing to raise around £170million in funds by selling Danny Rose, Toby Alderweireld, Victor Wanyama and Mousa Dembele as long as they receive substantial bids for each player this summer.#THFC #COYS pic.twitter.com/O1mdWUVLzi
— Ricky Sacks ? (@RickSpur) April 26, 2018
In turn, Alderweireld has been cast into obscurity by Mauricio Pochettino and while the Tottenham boss has iterated that it is not due to the contract impasse, reports suggest otherwise. Tottenham are now believed to have softened their stance and are willing to listen to offers for the Belgian in the summer, especially with Chelsea and Manchester United interested.
Manchester United do have Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Marcos Rojo, Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly as their options in central defence. But, Jones and Smalling are set to face an uncertain future in the summer and while Lindelof did put in a more than decent shift against Arsenal on Sunday, Jose Mourinho will be looking for a new partner for Bailly come summer.
Chelsea, on the other hand, will look to use Toby Alderweireld as a short-term transition option to replace an ageing backline consisting of Gary Cahill and David Luiz. Alderweireld is likely to be able to offer atleast 2-3 years of quality service, which would be crucial as Chelsea look to rebuild their backline.
Alderweireld’s arrival would mean that the quality of the defence does not dip during the rebuilding phase.
One very interesting point is that if Spurs do decide to take up the option of activating the one-year extension clause, it will also trigger a release clause into presence, which perhaps, could be one of the reasons the club are looking to either extend the deal now or look for offers in the summer, where they can decide the price.
£45 million is seen as bargain for a player of Alderweireld’s calibre and with Tottenham already looking at younger targets to replace the Belgian, the 29-year-old is likely to be on his way out in the summer, be it Chelsea, Manchester United or some other club.
