What is happening at Spurs? It has all become a bit of a joke!

Let us talk about Toby Alderweireld

Toby Alderweireld has been in the news lately. If you believe everything you read, then you will know that his agent has been bandying his name about, in the hope that he (he gets a percentage) and his player will get more money. Personally, I don’t think this is the right away to go about things, more so when you are dealing with somebody like Daniel Levy. He is not accustomed to being bullied by a mere-player.

Toby is a good player – there is no argument on that one- nevertheless he is not gods gift to Spurs. Spurs have a good enough squad to deal with his departure or injury (I am not suggesting that he should go). However, he has still two years of his contract left and if Levy dug his heels in and Toby refused to sign a new contract, then Levy could make him stay for the final two years. Tottenham does have an option of extending it by a further 12 months, but that would also spark a £25 million release clause. Which could be triggered in the summer of 2019. By then he will be 30 and the interest in him might have waned. I can see Levy sitting this one out, but could Toby? He doesn’t know what the situation will be like in two years time. Other clubs might have lost interest and by then Spurs might not want to extend his contract. He also could end up losing out on a lot of money. There is an old saying “be careful what you wish for as it might come true”.

Toby is on £50,000 a week, does he really want to gamble that and end up with nothing? As I see it, Levy is in the driving seat. He won’t be pushed around by a young upstart. Toby is known to hop from one club to another when his contract is due. This time he might just end up pushing himself into a corner where he can’t get out.

Spurs have a strong pay structure – he wants the same pay as Kane – but I don’t think he warrants such a significant pay hike (rumoured to be £100,000). Yes, more money, by all means. But as Levy and Spurs are in the driving seat things might not be as confident as Toby might want.

There are only a few clubs that can offer him more, such as City, Chelsea, United and Arsenal and a few abroad. By the time he becomes 30 I am sure those clubs will have moved on. I think Toby should think twice before pulling the trigger, bullets have a habit of ricocheting and ending up where you don’t want them to be.

I’ve also noticed that clubs are starting to fight back where players wish to leave because they want more. Players sign contracts and are happy to do so, they expect their clubs to honour such contracts, but so should they. The bottom line should be what is in the interest of Tottenham Hotspur FC.