Tottenham clinch Toby Alderweireld deal
Belgium defender Toby Alderweireld admits his international team-mates helped persuade him to opt for a, £11.5m switch to Tottenham over a return to Southampton.
Alderweireld, 26, who spent last season on loan at the Saints from Atletico Madrid, completed a move to White Hart Lane yesterday despite a legal row over the transfer.
“I’m very happy to be here and I hope to have a wonderful time with this team,” he said. “From the beginning I knew a lot about it from Jan Vertonghen, Mousa Dembele and Nacer Chadli.”
Southampton believe they had an agreement to sign Alderweireld, a key figure in Ronald Koeman’s Saints team last season, on a permanent deal because Atletico failed to meet a deadline to cancel that clause by paying £1.5m.