Spurs Can't Shift Alderweireld

Spurs Can't Shift Alderweireld

Let's be clear, Toby Alderweireld did not have an outstanding season, he is not the main pillar of our defence, Jan Vertonghen was and is.

Alderweireld was making mistakes all season and as I have pointed out before, when you are not 100% being a project, and Alderweireld wasn't because he tried to leave, you can not perform at your optimum level, it's an impossibility.

Without total commitment there is always an extra element you can not give, it may be a tiny percentage but tiny percentages can be the difference between success and failure.

His £25m release clause lasts until the final 2 weeks of the transfer window, that will be the transfer window that applies to the Premier League, not the European window, at least I am presuming we had the foresight to write it that way.

The fact that the European window is open later than ours is probably irrelevant but without reading his contract and no reporter has, then we can't be certain.

Barcelona offered £25m (€27.05m - $31.86m) for him last summer and he has only a year left on his contract now so they would offer less now. Perhaps, given his age, everyone believes he is overpriced at £25m.

We certainly don't want to keep him if he isn't signing a new contract and let him go on a free.

If ITK is correct, then Pochettino wants to replace him and personally I think too many people have read too much into what Alderweireld has said. If you look at it with an open mind there isn't really any commitment there.

To me, all his comments said I'm here is nobody buys me basically and that is not commitment.

Bayern Munich, Juventus, Manchester United, Manchester City and Inter Milan are all clubs who have been mentioned previously but none have firmed up an interest.

I would suggest his wages are a stumbling block. We offered him the deal he wanted, he agreed it and than changed his mind to turn it down, demanding more.

Let's do a little maths. He is 30 so has what, 4 years left.

£165,000-a-week for 52 weeks is £8.58m
£8.58m x 4 years is £34.32m
£25m transfer fee
Total £59.32m for 4 years of football

He is them worth nothing and you get no return on your investment. Yes, you might win something, but that isn't guaranteed.

He isn't the good buy he initially looks. The clubs who will want that on their books are few and far between. he is pricing himself out of the market through his wages. If money is what he is after he should go to China and end his career there. I suspect though, that he wants to continue his international career.

If we can get £25m for him then we'll perhaps look at purchasing 23-year-old (24 next May) Joachim Andersen at Sampdoria who wants to move on.

If we can't sell him and he doesn't sign a new contract, then we have a player on low wages playing for a season so there is an argument that that is not such a bad deal, especially as it would give Juan Foyth another year to mature.

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