Ajax defender Jan Vertonghen insists he is still keen to join
Tottenham next season despite their failure to secure Champions League
football.
The highly-rated 25-year-old has long been linked with a
move to north London, with Arsenal also thought to have previously been
interested.
And although Chelsea’s win over Bayern Munich in the
Champions League final cost Spurs their place in Europe’s top
competition next season, the Belgian says he ranks the White Hart Lane
outfit as his ‘preferred option’.
“I never said that I will only
leave Ajax for Tottenham. I only said that they are my preferred
option,” he told Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwesblad.
“I have a good feeling with the club and that matters to me. They have already invited me and want to wrap this up shortly.
“Tottenham missing out on the Champions League doesn’t play a role in my decision, but it could have consequences for their transfer budget.
“They’ve told me that I’m their only option and that’s a big compliment.”
The
centre-back also stressed that, while he would prefer a move during
pre-season, a decision on his future will be made before the end of the
month.
“The transfer talk doesn’t really affect me. I didn’t
expect that I’d feel hardly any stress. If the move doesn’t happen now,
I’ll stay at Ajax for another season, and can then leave on a free
transfer,” he said.
“The chance that we will know more in the next 10 days is rather small. I just want to start pre-season at my new team.”
