Tottenham line-up £35m summer move for Alderweireld replacement

Tottenham have reportedly been scouting Bayer Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah as insurance in case Toby Alderweireld leaves this summer.

Spurs are said to had scouts in attendance at several of the £35million-rated defender’s games since contract issues first surfaced with Alderweireld.

The club have failed to reach an agreement with the Belgium star on a new deal and it is understood they will look to offload him in the summer.

The former Southampton stopper would have no shortage of takers as the 29-year-old is regarded as one of the top central defenders in European football and has already been linked with both Barcelona and Real Madrid, amongst others.

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Spurs signed Colombian defender Davinson Sanchez for a club-record fee last summer to provide competition to Alderweireld and fellow Belgian Jan Vertonghen, but injuries to the former have seen Sanchez and Vertonghen strike up an impressive understanding at the heart of Tottenham’s defence.

Tah, 22, has excelled since breaking into the Leverkusen team, after moving from Hamburg, and has also won three caps for Germany.

The report in the Sunday People goes on to state that Tah will not move on the cheap, as Leverkusen have recently spent £18million on 19-year-old Greek youngster Panagiotis Retsos and will need to recoup some of that expenditure.