Tottenham set to reward defensive star with new contract

Jan Vertonghen could be the next Tottenham Hotspur player to re-commit his future to the club. The Daily Mail is reporting today that Spurs are set to offer their Belgian back line anchor a new contract that will keep him in lilywhite for the foreseeable future and also give him a substantial salary increase. His current contract expires in 2018.

Let's hope this is the case, because Jan hasn't always been that willing to play ball. The last time news about contract renegotiations came up was at the beginning of last season, Mauricio Pochettinio's first with the club, and Vertonghen ultimately decided not to sign a new contract, declining to state his reasons.

"I am not signing, no. I would prefer not to say why. I still have four years left. I am happy at the club and I think they are happy with me. That's where it ends.

"I am very happy, we have a good manager, we have a good team and a lot of good players."

That's not particularly surprising, considering the comparatively sorry state of Spurs football at the time. Jan was obviously frustrated with the way Spurs were playing and the porous nature of the back line at the time. Not signing a contract left him an escape hatch if things continued to stagnate at White Hart Lane. Since then, Spurs have fully embraced Pochettino's defensive philosophy, and are one of the best teams in the Premier League, and Jan certainly seems a lot happier now.

The Mail, being the Mail, doesn't go into a whole lot of detail on the specifics of the new contract (not that we expect them to), but it does suggest that Vertonghen would likely receive a substantial bump on his £40k/week wages.

It's been the year of new contracts at Tottenham, with players like Josh Onomah, Dele Alli, Mousa Dembele signing new deals along with a good number of promising youth players. The Mail also hints that Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane are next in line for new deals.

It's amazing what a season of good football, a title challenge, and a fellow Belgian bro as a defensive partner can do! If these reports are true, and I certainly hope they are, we should expect a continued improvement in Vertonghen's body language as soon as he gets back from injury.