Tottenham centre-back Toby Alderweireld is keen to sign a new £120,000-a-week contract that Spurs are set to table, according to Football Insider, and fans are in equal parts excited, shocked and desperate for it to happen.
There has been plenty of uncertainty surrounding the squad this season. Christian Eriksen’s future is still up in the air and Jan Vertonghen – a mainstay last season – hasn’t made it off the bench yet this campaign.
Many fans thought Alderweireld would leave this summer after a one-year extension to his contract last summer triggered a £26m release clause. That clause ran out two weeks before the end of the English transfer window this summer and Alderweireld has played every Premier League game so far this season.
His future is still uncertain. Like Eriksen, Alderweireld’s contract is up next summer and he could sign a pre-contract agreement this January with an overseas side and leave the club for free.
That would be a blow for Tottenham but FI claim that he is now “keen” to sign a new deal with Spurs in a “u-turn” that would represent a big twist in his contract saga.
Here are the best reactions from Tottenham fans:
https://twitter.com/8winks/status/1166662640816545792
Please make it official
— days???? (@sonswembley) August 28, 2019
If true @pokeefe1 this is a real shock
— Ethan (@EthanCOYS) August 28, 2019
In among the excitement from Spurs fans is a sense of shock from some that a player who they thought would definitely leave, might end up staying and signing a new long-term contract.
There also has to be an element of shock that no teams came in for Alderweireld at the price of £26m. He’s only 30 years old, far from over-the-hill for a centre-back, and he’s proving week-in, week-out that he can still play at the top of the game.
https://twitter.com/Freddie_LR/status/1166617480611188736
— Sahar Mohammed Ali???? (@trottinham) August 28, 2019
Is true I am buzzing for this, really will be the best bit of business for a while
— Nick Homewood (@Nickyh_yiddo) August 28, 2019
https://twitter.com/Davidmwenya14/status/1166644599626113024
Signing of the summer, if true.
— Glen Hussey (@Glebbers_) August 28, 2019
Now this is saying something, but it shows just how high a regard Alderweireld is held in by some Tottenham fans.
Spurs broke their transfer record this summer when they signed Tanguy Ndombele and he’s already shown glimpses of what he’s capable of in the two games he’s played for the club.
Despite that, one fan thinks Alderweireld would be the “signing of the summer” while another said it would be “the best bit of business in a while”.
The sooner Tottenham can tie him down, the better.