Former Tottenham Hotspur defender Jan Vertonghen has hinted that he could be set to remain in the Premier League this summer after leaving Spurs as a free agent after eight years at the club. The 33-year-old gave nothing away, refusing to rule out signing for a club in the Premier League this summer. As a free agent, the player will be weighing up his options as he contemplates his next move. The plater was reported by The Sun as saying:
“I’m considering the options and making a good choice. That will be out probably sooner rather than later.
“Obviously the window now is longer than it was last year, so we’ve got a bit of time to assess the best option.”
The Belgian defender was then asked about his next move and pressed on whether he could remain on the Premier League going into the 2020/21 season. Many will be wondering if there could be something in the links to Manchester United as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is seeking a partner for Harry Maguire, although they club has been linked with Nathan Ake, Gabriel Magalhaes and Pau Torres. Vertonghen, when asked about remaining in the Premier League, replied by saying:
“It will all depend on the options. I’ve got something in my head and we’ll see if that will come around or not.”
Vertonghen signed for Spurs back in 2012 for £12 million and has made 315 appearances for the club, scoring 14 goals and seven assists in his time there. I am sure that he has plenty to offer his next club but I wonder if he could be the player to provide a partnership role to Maguire. The player has suffered eight major injuries at Spurs which could be something that happens at his new club, possibly more regularly because of his age. He would be a free agent so could allow Solskjaer to spend in other areas this summer.
That aside, I wonder if signing him, if United are interested, would be the best thing for the club. His experience could help the likes of Maguire, Victor Lindelof, Eric Bailly and Axel Tuanzebe, who seem to be the more trusted defensive players at the club right now and could help the likes of Ethan Laird and Teden Mengi in their development at the club. In terms of playing back to back matches and helping to guide United in the Premier League title race, I have my doubts.
Vertonghen is a classy player and has played some great matches for Spurs, but has also been involved on some poor matches, which is something that could be said for many players around the world right now. The 33-year-old is a professional player and has been lauded as that by manager Jose Mourinho and he was a crowd favourite whilst at Spurs. Speaking about his past season to talkSPORT, as reported by The Sun, Vertonghen said:
“I felt like I owed that to him and to Spurs in general, as it wasn’t my best season and I could be quite disappointed at times.
“But it was my task to train hard and respect team-mates when I wasn’t playing or on the bench, and I hope I did that.
“I had a great time, made a lot of friends and learned a lot of things both off the pitch and on the pitch.
“I will miss everyone, it’s been a great ride and it could have lasted longer but it is time now for it to end.”
Written by John Walker
