Jan Vertonghen has seen limited game time under Jose Mourinho this season (Getty Images)
Jan Vertonghen is in the final month of his Tottenham contract and there hasn’t been any sign that the player will stay beyond the summer. The £100,000-a-week Belgian defender joined the English club ahead of the 2012-13 season and has made over 200 appearances for Spurs.
In his first season in England, Vertonghen was named in the PFA Team of the Year. But in the seasons to follow, the defender faced a lot of injury problems, limiting his game time.
And now the defender is very close to leaving the club for free. Age is not in the player’s favour and the wages too, given the ongoing financial crunch due to the pandemic.
The defender in his 7 years at the club has had some memorable performances with the North London club and some will go down in the memory of the fans.
This day with be etched in the memory of every Tottenham fan, with Vertonghen playing in a rather unusual position on the left wing. Two minutes into the second half, he sent in a perfect cross that found Heung-Min Son, who scored the goal.
Vertonghen was brilliant in the minutes that followed but that just wasn’t it. The Belgian defender, who was deployed on the left side of the midfield that day, made a brilliant run into the box in the 83rd minute. From close range, he scored a volley into the net.
The match ended with the scoreline 3-0 scoreline in favour of Spurs. This game is a game that the fans will remember and Vertonghen’s contribution will remain the highlight of the game.
Another game that the fans will remember is from the early days of the defender’s Spurs career. This came in a game between Tottenham and Stoke City in the 2012-13 season. A rather intriguing game that ended in a 0-0 draw saw an exceptional performance from the Belgian at left-back.
He anticipated challenges and cleared them with ease. It was one of the early games and this performance did see a lot of fans feel that the player will be an integral contributor to the team going forward. Here we are today 7 years later.
The 17/18 season saw Pochettino heap the praise on the defender. The coach had stated that Vertonghen was having his best season in a Tottenham shirt. Jan Vertonghen, as per official Premier League data, had made the highest tackles at the club that season (64), and had won the most aerial battles (118). This is one season that Tottenham fans will remember the player for.
Vertonghen had shown the potential to be one of the best defenders in the league but faced lots of problems owning injuries. Hence, the player couldn’t reach the level that he could have done otherwise. In recent times, the defender has been out of shape and form, and has fallen out of favour.
Nevertheless, Vertonghen has been a name to remember for the Tottenham faithful and he has left behind a lot of memories for them to cherish.
