Tottenham have said that they are extremely close to signing Ajax defender Jan Vertonghen in a £ 9.6 million deal. Tottenham have been linked with the Dutch defender for quite a while now in order to replace the likes of William Gallas and Ledley King.

Due to the fact that their captain Michael Dawson has also suffered a number of injury problems in the past, the central defensive position is an area of major concern for Tottenham going into the next season. They have no wasted no time in sealing the deal for one of the highly rated defenders in Europe.

Tottenham will be hoping that Jan Vertonghen turns out to be the next Thomas Vermaelen. The Belgian defender was signed by arch rivals Arsenal from Ajax a few seasons ago. Despite his lack of height, he has turned out to be one of the best signings Arsenal have made in recent seasons. Jan Vertonghen has confirmed that he wanted to sign for Tottenham from the first instance due to the fact that the English club has shown a lot of interest. This is a major coup for Tottenham given that they are extremely close to securing the signature of the player, who is coveted by many clubs across Europe.

“I have a preference for Spurs. I’ve got the best feeling for that club and I’m a ‘feeling person’. They already invited me and want to handle it quickly. They say I’m their only option, which I take as a compliment,” Vertonghen said. It is certainly going to be easy for Jan Vertonghen to settle in the English game due to the fact that the club already has a Dutchman in the form of Rafael van der Vaart, who is one of the established members of the Tottenham team.