After four years with Tottenham Hotspur, Toby Alderweireld could be set to move on this summer.
The Belgian confirmed his place among Europe's leading centre-back playing under Mauricio Pochettino and with a limited time buyout clause in his contract this summer a major rival was expected to come in for him.
Manchester United had been linked with the 30-year-old but are now understood to be chasing Leicester City defender Harry Maguire.
Instead, Serie A side Roma are believed to be leading the chase for Alderweireld - a curious development that has left some Spurs fans bemused.
Why would one of the best centre-backs in the Premier League want to leave for a club without Champions League football and less financial clout, leading to lower wages.
Tottenham are hardly the most generous payers in England's top six but in comparison to teams on the continent they remain a level above.
However, the offer Roma could make to Alderweireld could be more lucrative than it seems on paper, and it's all thanks to David Beckham.
Back in 2005, to help their clubs raid other European leagues to sign their best players, Spain passed a new law to provide wealthy foreign nationals with a generous tax allowance.
It was dubbed the 'Beckham law' after the former United player who became one of the most high-profile signings of Real Madrid's Galactico era in 2003.
Now Italy has followed suit. According to Marca, the tax rates for foreign players in Serie A will describe from 47% to 30% in the north of the country and 44% to 15% in the south.
Rome is counted as southern Italy. Alderweireld would take home a far proportion of his wage if he were to move to Roma than would have been the case previously.
That would obviously make their offer more interesting to a footballer if they were motivated by wealth. Whether that is enough for the Belgian is another matter.
Spurs can offer him Champions League football. Roma cannot. He has also hinted that he would prefer to go back to Ajax to see out the final years of his career.
A switch to Italy would put that plan in jeopardy or leave him to return to Amsterdam when he is too old to make the impact he would like to.
There is always the chance he stays on at Tottenham for one more year until his deal expires next summer.
Clubs can move in to trigger the clause in his contract but there is no guarentee they would have Alderweireld's consent.
