Former Tottenham defender Alan Hutton has urged the North London club to hand Jan Vertonghen a two-year contract after news broke a few days ago that the defender had reportedly rejected Spurs’ latest offer.
Football Insider revealed that Jose Mourinho’s side were preparing to start next season without Vertonghen after the centre-half’s latest contract snub.
It was claimed that the Belgian international wanted a minimum of a two-year deal while Spurs were willing to offer just a year’s extension on reduced terms.
The experienced centre half, who will be a free agent this summer, is reportedly attracting considerable interest with Inter Milan (Standard), Barcelona (Sport) and his former club Ajax (Ziggo Sport) all said to be keen on his services.
Former Spurs midfielder Michael Brown has previously urged the 32-year-old to accept the one-year extension offered by the club and back himself to earn another contract with his performances next season (Football Insider).
However, Hutton insisted that Vertonghen still had some football left in him and called for Spurs to offer the long-serving defender a two-year extension.
The former Scottish international also speculated whether a behind the scenes issue between Jose Mourinho and Vertonghen could be playing a factor.
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Speaking to Football Insider, Hutton said: “I would offer him it, I think he’s a great player.
“Yes, ups and downs and the contract issue has been a problem throughout the whole season but I think when you’ve got him and Alderweireld firing and doing well, they’re an unbelievable partnership.
“What is he now, 32? He’s not that old, it’s getting silly now, as soon as you hit 30 people are looking at you like you’re over the hill, it’s just silly.
“Giving him two years is no problem in my opinion. He’s a centre-half who’s a fit guy, looks after himself – if it was me, I’d give him it. Whether there’s something behind the scenes between him and Mourinho, we don’t know.”
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We have to wait and see how the financial downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic affect’s Vertonghen’s situation. The club might decide that they cannot afford to offer a player of his age a two-year deal.
Conversely, they might also decide that it would be too expensive to dip into the transfer market and thus change their minds about the contract offer.
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