Tottenham seemed to face a hefty battle to keep their star centre-back Toby Alderweireld this summer, as reports suggested that a move to Manchester was extremely likely.
However, despite claims that the defender wanted a move away from North London, Alderweireld himself has now denied all reports of this.
“Everyone was saying everywhere that I absolutely wanted to leave Tottenham,” Alderweireld said.
“That’s not true. This summer, I quickly understood Tottenham wanted to keep me.
“So, I had to battle to get my place back in the team. To be in the first team again is a victory for me.
“I just try to help Tottenham as best I can with my qualities.
“Regarding my future, everything that was said in the press was not right all the time.”
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This will be music to Spurs fans’ ears, as rumours of Alderweireld’s unrest were seemingly all falsified.
The reports began when the Belgian defender was eft out of Pochettino’s line ups towards the end of last season, leading up to the Russia World Cup in the summer.
Poch himself always insisted that he was choosing the best team possible, and that Toby wasn’t quite up to fitness after an injury scare.
Fast forward a few months and Alderweireld now has his starting place back, appearing in both a back two with fellow Belgian star Jan Vertonghen, and a back three with the addition of young Davinson Sanchez.
The 29-year-old still only has a year left on his contract, which expires this summer, but Spurs do have an option to extend it for a further year.
However, this would activate a release clause, making the defender available for only £25m during one week of the summer transfer window.
Spurs will be hoping to tie Alderweireld down to a new contract before that point, as talks of a new deal have reignited.
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