5 players who could leave Tottenham this summer

#2 Toby Alderweireld

Toby Alderweireld has a £25m release clause in his contract

Like Eriksen, Belgian central defender Toby Alderweireld is not a player that Mauricio Pochettino would want to lose right now. A couple of hamstring injuries the last couple of seasons raised concerns over his future at the age of 30, but 2018/19 saw him back to his imperious best at the heart of the Spurs defence, and he made 34 appearances in the Premier League.

Tottenham may have the outstanding Jan Vertonghen and Davinson Sanchez in their squad, and Juan Foyth is ever-improving despite concerns over his reckless nature, but none of them are quite on the same level as Alderweireld. The problem though is that when the club extended his contract last season, it triggered a release clause of £25m for the player.

Alderweireld doesn’t appear to want to leave the club; he recently stated that he still sees himself as a Tottenham player in 2019/20 and even if another side makes that £25m bid, there’s no guarantee that the Belgian will go. He’s on £80k a week at Spurs and would likely only receive a small raise elsewhere anyway.

However, his age is what might play against him. Despite rumours that Alderweireld wants to see out his contract at Tottenham before moving back to Ajax, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy may decide it’s more pertinent to cash in on him now, while £25m can still be raised for him, rather than let him walk away for nothing.

For Pochettino a new long-term deal would probably be preferred, but Tottenham don’t like to hand long contracts out to aging players and at 30 with some serious injuries behind him, who knows how long Alderweireld has left at the top? To see him depart this summer would be disappointing to Spurs fans but could be likely too.