''What I want is to be playing in the Champions League with Tottenham, so I hope we get in this year. Do I have a decision to make if we dont? I cant say anything about that. Lets see after the end of the season, after the World Cup. - Jan Vertonghen, February 2014.
Belgian defender Jan Vertonghens admission that he may have to move on if Spurs failed to qualify for the clubs elite European competition did not sit well with then-boss Tim Sherwood, who subsequently relegated him to the bench for the majority of the latter half of the season. The ill feeling was reciprocated by the Spurs supporters, aghast at the seeming lack of loyalty shown by their 26 year old centre-back. As it happens, Vertonghen stayed at the club, but his future looks to be no more certain after rejecting the offer of a new contract in September. Having fleeted in and out of the side under Mauricio Pochettino this season, the Belgian looks set for the exit after failing to nail down a regular starting berth.
''I am not signing. We agreed not to and I would prefer not to say why. I still have four years left. I am very happy at the club and I think they are happy with me. Thats where it ends. - Jan Vertonghen, September 2014.
He may or may not have uttered that statement through gritted teeth.
Recent Journalism & New Media graduate. Insatiable thirst for all things football, and hopes to break into the field of sports journalism in the near future.
Have made a significantly insignificant playing career out of receiving several slaps around the head for not passing the ball.
