Vertonghen may not stay at Tottenham past June 30

Tottenham Hotspur veteran center back Jan Vertonghen is back in training with his Spurs teammates, but it’s looking more and more likely that he may not be around for long, even to finish the current Premier League season.

ESPN is reporting that Vertonghen is “increasingly likely to leave” Spurs when his contract expires at the end of June, and that could conceivably put Spurs in a bit of a bind. Vertonghen’s contract apparently ends specifically on June 30 and NOT “at the end of the season”. Due to the coronavirus-related shutdown of football, FIFA has granted clubs permission to extend players’ contracts that would otherwise expire to the end of the season, Vertonghen hasn’t signed one at Spurs either.

That means he could potentially leave the club as a free agent on June 30, whether the 2019-20 Premier League season has finished or not.

Jan has said before that he’s looking for a two year deal on his current salary, and that he’s keeping all of his options open, even re-signing with Spurs. However, it doesn’t appear that Tottenham has offered Jan a contract, or one that would meet his requirements.

“I want to sign with the right club. It could be Spurs, or another club. It must be a club with ambition. I want to play in Europe, as the national team is important for me.”

“I want to play in Europe and learn another language. Spain and Italy are options. And the duration of the contract will also play a role.”

If football does start back up in a couple of weeks, it might not be the last time we see Jan Vertonghen in a Tottenham Hotspur shirt, but it does awaken the possibility of an awkward mid-season departure from a club he’s played for since 2012.