Toby Alderweireld is on the brink of joining Tottenham Hotspur, with reports suggesting the defender has even passed a medical.
The Belgium international impressed last season whilst on loan at Southampton, who were thought to have an option to make the deal permanent for £6.5million. Atletico Madrid, though, included a clause in this agreement which would allow them to cancel this option, but they would have to pay the St Mary’s side a compensation fee.
That the Spanish side didn’t pay this within the set timeframe would have given the Saints a clear run on the defender, but it was widely reported last week that Spurs were in pole position for his signature. And the London Evening Standard now claims the capital side have agreed a £10million deal for the player, with a further £1.5million in add-ons.
Indeed, the local news source even states that the 26-year-old, who has agreed terms on a five-year contract worth around £50,000-per-week, has even passed a medical with the White Hart Lane club. This is likely to cause something of an uproar with Southampton, who could now investigate their chances of pursuing a legal case in relation to the matter.
But as far as Tottenham and chairman Daniel Levy are concerned, they will have conducted their business above board; there can be no argument that Alderweireld’s contract was with Atletico – and not Southampton – so they merely had an offer accepted and then proceeded with formalities to add the player to Mauricio Pochettino’s first team squad.
