Toby Alderweireld has rejected a new Tottenham contract in a shattering blow to the club’s hopes of keeping him, according to the Times.
The newspaper claim that the Belgium defender has snubbed the deal on offer from Spurs as he could treble his £55,000-a-week salary at another club.
Tottenham’s public stance is that they are confident of tying Alderweireld, 28, down to a new agreement as they look to renegotiate the terms of his current contract.
White Hart Lane chiefs have the option of extending the Belgian’s deal, which runs until 2019, by a further 12 months but it includes a £25million release clause that could be triggered in the summer of 2019.
Chairman Daniel Levy and the Spurs board want to prevent the possibility of the defender leaving in 18 months for a knockdown fee.
Levy told a supporters forum at White Hart Lane at the end of last month that he expects the Belgium international to end his stalemate with the club and pen an extension to his current deal.
He reiterated on Friday that no key players will leave Tottenham in the summer that Mauricio Pochettino wants to keep.
OPINION
Alderweireld’s rejection of Tottenham’s contract offer is a massive blow to the club’s hopes of keeping him. It is an indication not only that the player recognises his value in the market but also the delicate situation in which Levy and the Spurs board find themselves. Losing Kyle Walker, fine right-back though he is, was careless. But selling Alderweireld would be on a different scale altogether. The Belgian is more than just the club’s outstanding defender. He is one of Europe’s pre-eminent centre-backs, a bona fide superstar. The problem for Tottenham is that Alderweireld and his representatives hold all the aces in this game of contract cat-and-mouse. They know the player is in demand and could secure a move to one of Europe’s elite clubs. They also know he is irreplaceable at Spurs. Tottenham must offer him a new deal that reflects his standing in the game, otherwise they face the prospect of him leaving in one of the next two summers for a knockdown price.