Transfer news: Tottenham will not entertain offers for Belgium's Jan Vertonghen
By Lyall Thomas | Follow me on Twitter: @LyallThomas
Last Updated: 16/07/14 10:56pm
Tottenham will staunchly resist any offers for defender Jan Vertonghen this summer, Sky Sports understands.
The 27-year-old centre-half has four years left on his current contract and Spurs have no intention of selling the Belgium international.
Vertonghen's future at White Hart Lane has been questioned following recent comments made by his agent, Mustapha Nakhli, in which he claimed a host of European clubs were interested in the player.
Nakhli also fuelled speculation by refusing to confirm or deny whether Barcelona, who are searching for a central defender following the retirement of Carles Puyol, are one of those interested clubs.
But Sky sources understand Spurs have not received any contact from the Catalan giants about Vertonghen, nor any other club for that matter, and are unconcerned by Nakhli's comments.
Vertonghen is believed to be a fundamental part of new head coach Mauricio Pochettino's plans for the forthcoming season and, as recently as May, the player insisted he would not be seeking a move away from the north London club this summer.
"I've got more years left at Tottenham and I'm happy,” he said following Tim Sherwood's sacking at the end of last season.
“I want to stay so it doesn't matter who the manager will be. The chairman will make a good decision."
The versatile defender, who signed on a six-year-deal from Ajax in 2012, will have been further encouraged by team-mate Hugo Lloris committing his long-term future to Tottenham, signing a new five-year-deal earlier this month.
Vertonghen, who has played 82 times for Spurs, is not expected to travel on the club's tour to the USA next week, however, and neither are any of Tottenham's representatives at the World Cup including Belgium team-mates Mousa Dembele and Nacer Chadli, Brazil's Paulinho and Nabil Bentaleb of Algeria.
Vertonghen impressed in Brazil as Belgium made the quarter-finals, where they were knocked out by Argentina, taking his caps for the country to 62.
