Manchester United have delivered a huge take-it-or-leave-it bid to Tottenham for Toby Alderweireld of £40million, according to the Mirror.
The newspaper claim United have made one final offer for the Belgium international that has been delivered straight to Spurs chairman Daniel Levy.
The Mirror report that Jose Mourinho’s side will not meet Tottenham’s £55million asking price for the 29-year-old but are convinced the player’s contract situation will “eventually force” the hand of the London club as the deal goes down to the wire.
Good move for Tottenham?
No. Offloading one of your best players to a title rival is poor business. Tottenham have not sold a player to United since Dimitar Berbatov made the move up north 10 summers ago, and it is a sign of their diminished financial resources they are likely to do so again. Alderweireld was not a key player in the second half of last season after injury and a contract stand-off, and he has blown out 29 candles on his birthday cake, but he has been the outstanding centre-back in the Premier League since moving to White Hart Lane three years ago and will leave a huge hole in the team if he does leave, despite the emergence of Davinson Sanchez as Jan Vertonghen’s new centre-back ally.
This Is Futbol rating 3/10
Likely to happen?
This long-running saga is not over yet, and it appears it will go down to the final hours of deadline day. Can United push the signing over the line? Much depends upon the stance of Spurs chairman Levy, who will not want to be left with a player who does not want to be at the club and can leave for £25million next summer. Expect it eventually to go through – just.
This Is Futbol rating 8/10