Tottenham Prepare to Splash £45m on Dutch Teen Sensation to Replace Ostracised Toby Alderweireld
Tottenham have supposedly set aside £45m to spend in the summer on Ajax defender Matthijs de Ligt, with Toby Alderweireld set to leave the club.
De Ligt is one of the most coveted young players in Europe, and has been highly impressive over in the Netherlands.
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Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino, a known advocate for youth in football, sees the 17-year-old as a potential successor to Alderweireld as reported by the Sun - he has failed to agree a new deal with the north Londoners.
The idea of joining Spurs is sure to be an attractive proposition for de Ligt, who has seen former Ajax stars Jan Vertonghen, Christian Eriksen and most recently Davinson Sanchez all move to the capital and flourish.
Supposedly Arsenal are also interested in the Leiderdorp-born defender, who has already appeared over 50 times for the Amsterdam club. He first caught the eye against Manchester United in the Europa League final last season alongside Sanchez.
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Other options for Spurs include Alfie Mawson and Harry Maguire, but Pochettino is said to prefer de Ligt, who arguably represents better value with more years at the top.
Belgian international Alderweireld has been frozen out at Spurs since returning from injury. The form of Sanchez has given Pochettino reason enough to refrain from bringing him in from the cold. The expectation is that he will move on at the end of the season - Manchester United and Chelsea are both said to be interested.
