The future seems very unclear for Toby Alderweireld who seemed set to join Tottenham from Atletico Madrid, however Southampton may take legal action to block such a move.
It seemed certain that Alderweireld was on his way to Tottenham for £11.5 million, which had been agreed at the weekend following Daniel Levy's talks in Madrid according to the Daily Mail. Spurs have reportedly fought off interest from Chelsea to land the Belgian international.
Southampton's legal claim
Although any deal for the Ajax youth graduate has been seemingly put on hold as Southampton were reportedly meant to get first refusal on his services due to a clause in the season long loan deal which was agreed this time last year. This clause is believed to be £6.8 million and the only way it could be altered is if Atletico paid the Saints £1.5 million within a certain time frame, which apparently has now passed.
Ronald Koeman would certainly love to keep the central defender who made 25 appearences for the club in their 7th place finish in 2014/15. The Dutch manager told the Guardian that they'd like to "keep the player" but admitted that "it's a little difficult at the moment."
The player's perspective
Ultimately the parent club of the player still has all the power here and Alderweireld has acknoweldged this himself as he told the Mirror he was "happy in England" after a fantastic season and claimed he will "talk with Atletico."
Is he the player for Spurs?
Most people would agree that Alderwiereld would be a good signing for Spurs in terms of where the club are trying to go, which is to be in the Champions League on a regular basis. The 26 year old would certainly help them achieve this goal as he has plenty of top class international experience, Champions League football under his belt and most importantly people have seen he can handle the demands of the Premier League.
Also if a deal was to go through for the reported fee of £11.5 million then that would be great value for money as Spurs have a recent history of overpaying for players who have not been up to a higher enough standard especially in the defensive area of the pitch, Alderweireld would most likely walk straight into the team and build a good partenship with his national team mate Jan Vertonghen.