The Atletico Madrid defender Toby Alderweireld has been understood to have been agreed to sign upon by Tottenham Hotspurs for around £12-million pounds. The issue, though, lies with the compensation clause against Atletico with Southampton which would be activated if the player decides to return back to the Premier League.
Alderweireld had played his last season for Soton in a loan deal. They also had the option to make the deal permanent at the end, by paying £8 million to the Madrid-based club. And, Atletico Madrid do not want to sell him, they would have to pay back £2 million to cancel the agreement.
The 26-year-old is stuck right now between three clubs fighting for him. As Atletico failed to pay the £2 million to the south coast club, the player should technically be theirs. But as the player’s will stands in their way, the story is far from there.
Spurs want to stay as the third-party in this deal and prefer not to involve in the matters between the two clubs. They consider the deal with Atletico Madrid to be in good faith and trust the club to ensure the transfer moves smoothly.
If the deal is sorted out, this would be Mauricio Pochettino’s third deal of the summer, after having Kevin Wimmer from Cologne and Keiran Tripper from Burnley.
Alderweireld would be excited to see his prospects playing alongside his Belgian teammate Jan Vertonghen at the White Hart Lane, as both play fullbacks for the national side.
