Spurs must keep Lloris – Vertonghen

Spurs must keep Lloris – Vertonghen
Tottenham must not let goalkeeper Hugo Lloris leave White Hart Lane this summer if they are serious about breaking back into the top four, according to defender Jan Vertonghen.

France international Lloris was one of the stand-out performers for Spurs last season, who rallied to end the campaign in fifth place and so qualify again for the Europa League.

However, with David de Gea appearing set to leave Manchester United, the 28-year-old Spurs skipper has been linked with a switch to Old Trafford.
Vertonghen, though, believes Lloris is key to the development of Mauricio Pochettino’s squad.

“He’s a great guy, great captain, great goalkeeper and a brilliant player for us,” said the Belgian, who is likely to come up against his Spurs team-mate in Sunday’s international friendly against Les Bleus.

“He’s the captain, very important and this season he was one of our best players.

“He’s been outstanding for us and if you want to continue growing as a club you have to keep your best players and Hugo is one of them.

“I hope Tottenham can keep him. It will be a sign for everyone next year that we want to compete in the Premier League.”

Vertonghen is confident Spurs, who reached the Capital One Cup final at Wembley, can push on again next season.

He added on Sky Sports News HQ: “We ended the season well in the last two games and we didn’t expect to finish fifth. Hopefully we can continue to push for fourth.

“We have got four big teams ahead of us at the moment, but we have to find a way to beat them.”