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The Daily Telegraph reports that fresh doubt has been cast on the long-term future of Tottenham star Toby Alderweireld, after the central defender was left out of the squad that flew to Italy for the Champions League tie with Juventus.
The 28-year old has missed more than 3 months of the current season with a hamstring injury, but returned to action in the FA Cup against Newport, and declared himself fit for the North London derby against Arsenal. However, manager Mauricio Pochettino left him out of the team on Saturday, and now has omitted him from another big game as he fits to regain full fitness, which is unlikely to please the Belgian international.
Alderweireld has yet to agree a new contract with Spurs, and his current deal includes a one-year extension option which is scheduled to activate in 2019. However, it also features a £25 million release clause that could be activated provided that any transfer was completed within two weeks of the closure of the contract window.
That has prompted Spurs to consider selling Alderweireld at the end of the season if they cannot reach an agreement with him in order to get full value for the player, rather than sell him for a relative pittance a year later. Manchester City, Chelsea and Real Madrid are all reported to be monitoring events.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.