Alderweireld ‘committed’ to Spurs as deadline nears

Toby Alderweireld has given the clearest indication yet that he will still be playing for Tottenham Hotspur next season, despite the threat of a rival club making a late move for him.

The Belgium centre-half has a clause in his contract which stipulates that Tottenham must sanction his sale if a club lodge a £25million bid by Thursday – a fortnight before the transfer window closes.

The clause was activated when Spurs invoked an option to extend Alderweireld’s contract by 12 months until the end of next season but, while the 30-year-old cannot discount a club swooping before this week’s deadline, he says he is not targeting a move. Roma are thought to have made an inquiry, but there are doubts over whether they can afford his release clause, and Manchester United have been linked with the player previously.

Alderweireld cited Mauricio Pochettino’s decision to make him captain for Tottenham’s 3-2 win over Juventus in Singapore on Sunday as evidence of his commitment to the club.

Asked if he expected to still be a Tottenham player come the start of the season, Alderweireld said: “Yes. I think the manager [Pochettino] knows I am committed to the club, but you never know in football. It [a club triggering the clause] can happen, but my focus is on Spurs and in my head I will be playing for Spurs.”

Tottenham are closing in on a deal to sign Ryan Sessegnon from Fulham following a breakthrough in talks between the clubs.

Fulham could use some of the cash to sign Spurs midfielder Josh Onomah, and have also shown an interest in winger Georges-kevin Nkoudou. Spurs are likely to pay around £20 million plus add-ons for Sessegnon, who has only one year remaining on his Fulham contract.

Meanwhile, Hugo Lloris has left Tottenham’s pre-season tour of Asia to return to London to continue his recovery from tonsillitis.