Tottenham Hotspur defender Toby Alderweireld has been the subject of a high level of speculation so far this summer. The Belgian centre back has reportedly been of interest to Manchester United, with Jose Mourinho keen to add the 29 year old to his squad this summer, as doubts persist regarding the suitability of several of his current options in the centre of defence.
The Spurs man was recently quizzed about his future after reports suggested that United were unwilling to meet the London club’s valuation for the player, and had this to offer on the subject of potentially staying put: “Yeah, why not? I have two years left on my contract. I don’t know what is going to happen,” in quotes carried by Sky Sports.
This potential outcome should not surprise any United fans that have followed the club’s dealings with this particular team. United have always found Spurs chairman an exceptionally difficult man to negotiate with, and even though Alderweireld has only two years left on his current deal, and found himself out of favour in the second half of last season, Levy is clearly keen to extract as much money as he can out of any potential suitors in an attempt to raise funds for their own squad redevelopments. It’s a strategy that has reaped dividends for them in the past, but it makes signing targets exceptionally difficult.
Whilst United continue to prioritise centre back as an area for strengthening this summer, there remains little in the way of speculation as to the futures of the club’s current options in the role. Nary a report has been released regarding Chris Smalling and Phil Jones, and Marcos Rojo’s new contract suggests that Mourinho wants to keep hold of the Argentine. Elsewhere, Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly have only been with the club one and two years respectively, so it would be a huge surprise to see them moved on so soon.
