Report: United and Tottenham not negotiating for Alderweireld sale

Tottenham Hotspur is actively looking to sell Toby Alderweireld this summer, and Manchester United is the club most likely to purchase them. Or at least that’s the understanding based on what we know from transfer rumors and recent reporting.

The only problem with that is that as of yet Manchester United haven’t made an approach. That’s the latest from Football.london Spurs correspondent Alasdair Gold, who writes that United are currently not in negotiations to purchase the Belgian central defender.

There were hopes that Spurs might get closure on Alderweireld before the World Cup, but that doesn’t seem that likely anymore. As of last month, the two clubs were talking Toby, but it seems that something has happened in the meantime. Gold hypothesizes that Spurs’ insistence on including Anthony Martial as part of any deal is what caused the hold-up. That’s not to say that United may not come back in for Toby at some point — this happens a lot in football transfers — but it looks as though things are at a stalemate at the moment.

That opens up a bunch of other possibilities, though. PSG have reportedly shown interest, and it might be preferable to sell Alderweireld somewhere on the continent as opposed to within the Premier League. Spurs fans would certainly prefer that option.

Might this also open a door to Toby having a change of heart and re-signing with Tottenham with an improved contract? Possibly, but there doesn’t seem to be any indication that either side are interested in reopening negotiations. Gold reports that Spurs offered £130k/wk but that Toby’s representatives were holding out for £180k/wk.

Spurs reportedly have big transfer plans this summer, but some of that may hinge on whether they can get a good price for Alderweireld and use the proceeds to finance other signings. If Spurs can’t offload him at what they consider a fair price, they can always keep him one more season on his current contract, but then would likely lose him for £25m next summer thanks to a release clause in his contract.