Many Spurs fans were shocked to see that defender Jan Vertonghen was named in the whoscored team of the week for his performance in Sunday’s 2-1 win over Wolves.
The Belgian defender headed a late winner against Nuno Espirito Santo’s side to snatch all three points, but struggled to deal with Adama Traore throughout the game. However, his performance was deemed enough to see him named in the team of the week (via Hotspur Related), much to the surprise of Spurs fans.
Vertonghen, who joined Spurs from Ajax in 2012, has been a regular at centre-back in his seven years with the club; making 298 appearances for the North London side. However, the Belgian has been trusted by Jose Mourinho to fill in at left-back in recent games, after the injury suffered by Ben Davies during the win over West Ham. Although Spurs were able to see out the game against Wolves, it seemed as if Traore had the beating of Vertonghen every single time he picked up the ball, but the 32-year-old defender had the last laugh with his late goal.
Does Vertonghen deserve a new contract at Spurs?
Yes
No
Reaction from Spurs fans to Vertonghen’s accolade can be seen in the tweets below.
#thfc defender Jan Vertonghen has been named in the @WhoScored Premier League team of the weekend with an 8.1 rating. pic.twitter.com/hZv1cGMVD7
— Hotspur Related (@HotspurRelated) December 17, 2019
God knows how. He had a shocker
— Charlie (@CGreenhouse82) December 17, 2019
Definition of a goal saving a distasterclass WE MOVEEEE
— Davi (@HarryestKane) December 17, 2019
He wasnt that good
— THFC LB (@ahahahaoke) December 17, 2019
You’ve got to remember this guy is 32 years old and not in his natural position for spurs! Also it doesn’t help that a pacey 23 year old was on him for 90 minutes
— The Art Of Football (@MoriartySpurs) December 17, 2019
0.1 if he hadnt scored
— Running Man (@huddlewaddle) December 17, 2019
These Spurs fans were clearly shocked to see Vertonghen named in the team of the week and feel that his late goal disguised what was actually a poor performance from the makeshift left-back.
What do we think?
Vertonghen really struggled to deal with Traore’s pace on Sunday, but saved his performance by a late, not entirely deserved, winner for Mourinho’s side. The £16.2 million rated defender has proved to be an excellent option at left-back in recent games; averaging a 7.62 and he may well be doing enough to convince his new manager that he is worthy of a new contract, with his current deal set to expire at the end of the season.