José Mourinho is targeting Toby Alderweireld as part of the Manchester United manager’s intended revamp of his defence this summer, with the Tottenham Hotspur centre-back open to a move to Old Trafford.
Alderweireld is out of contract in 2020 and discussions over fresh terms have reached a virtual impasse. The Belgian is conscious he can leave Tottenham next summer for €25m (£22m) due to a clause in his deal, though only if an option to extend until 2020 is activated.
United are aware any move to sign Alderweireld will be made difficult by the tough negotiating skills of Daniel Levy, especially as the Tottenham chairman will not wish to sell a prime asset to a direct rival. Should Levy be prepared to sell he would no doubt demand a sizeable fee from United, perhaps even more than the world-record £75m that Liverpool paid Southampton for Virgil van Dijk in January.
Whether Ed Woodward, United’s executive vice-chairman, would countenance such a fee for a player edging towards his 30th birthday remains to be seen, with Alderweireld’s wage demands also to be considered. The player currently earns a basic £50,000 a-week at Spurs and would seek closer to treble that for what would be his last major contract.
Alderweireld would fit into the profile of the experienced player Mourinho wishes to add as he seeks to challenge Manchester City next season, a requirement echoed by Nemanja Matic after Saturday’s FA Cup final defeat to Chelsea.
While the interest in Alderweireld may put Chris Smalling’s future in the balance, the manager also wishes to add a fresh right-back, left-back, wide forward and at least one midfielder, Shakhtar Donetsk’s Fred is thought to be of interest to Mourinho in the latter position.
