According to The Athletic’s Charlie Eccleshare, Tottenham Hotspur refused to hand Belgian centre-back Jan Vertonghen a contract extension because he wants a two-year deal and given his struggles this season.
Spurs weren’t keen to hand a 33-year-old steadily approaching the twilight of his career up to two years, and his performances so far this term have done little to convince the club.
Vertonghen is now a squad player having struggled to force his way into boss Jose Mourinho’s starting XI, and the North London side are more than happy to see him leave on a free at the end of the season.
The defender has played 26 games across all competitions this term, but the emergence of Japhet Tanganga since the turn of the year has relegated him to the bench.
Vertonghen was hauled off at half-time in the FA Cup game against Southampton in February and he wasn’t able to cope playing at left-back with the trickery and pace of Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Adama Traore last December.
The former Ajax star has been a key player for Spurs over the past eight seasons, and is now set to leave as a hero given that he always gave his best.
Unfortunately, his best is no longer good enough for a team looking to re-establish themselves in the top-four.
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