Tottenham defender will not sign new contract with club

Jan Vertonghen will not be signing a new contract with Tottenham Hotspur after all. His agent said that he and the club were close on a new deal just a few weeks ago, but now the Belgian will continue playing on his current contract, which has four more years on it.

"I am not signing, no," Vertonghen said. "We agreed not to.

"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.

"The squad is very big and you have to work hard to play every game and I hope I am playing again soon."

Mauricio Pochettino's central defender rotation has been odd of late, with Younes Kaboul and Vlad Chiriches starting in the league and Vertonghen and Federico Fazio starting in the cups. You would have to think that before long, Vertonghen will be starting nearly every match, and especially those in the league, seeing as he is undoubtedly Tottenham's best defender. One would think that Fazio is also a good bet to join him in that, but Kaboul has the captain's armband and, seemingly, Pochettino's support.

So no new contract for Vertonghen. He says he is happy at the club, but he also could leave if Spurs don't qualify for next year's Champions League. It's all a little murky right now.