If Roma want to purchase Toby Alderweireld from Tottenham, they will be required to pay his full release clause of 25 million pounds.
It appears that Toby Alderweireld is close to securing a summer exit away from Tottenham. That doesn’t mean Spurs are going to make things easy on the team interested in signing the classy Belgian. Daniel Levy and company will stand firm in the face of Roma’s recent request.
According to Calcio Mercato, the Serie A club have already agreed to pay Alderweireld a handsome wage packet next season. The veteran central defender is set to earn £3.5 million plus bonuses if he does complete the move to Italy. There is one major obstacle left before he secures his move away from Spurs though.
Roma officials are trying to convince Tottenham to accept a transfer fee below Alderweireld’s £25 million release clause. The odds of them successfully gaining any such concession from Levy are almost non-existent. Spurs are keenly aware that Alderweireld’s release clause represents a supreme bargain in today’s transfer market. The Premier League club will have no sympathy for Roma in their attempt to offset the salary they’re willing to pay Alderweireld.
Simply put, unless Roma are wiling to stump the full £25 million there is no chance that Alderweireld will stabilize their defence. In all likelihood, this is a weak attempt by Roma to save a few million pounds. The club can’t really have an expectation that Spurs are going to cut them any sort of financial slack.
The only way Roma can knock the price down would be to include another player as part of the deal. Tottenham have a keen interest in Nicolo Zaniolo, and other rumours have claimed that Patrik Schick could still be of interest to Mauricio Pochettino and his coaching staff. Interestingly, the inclusion of either player would likely result in cash being headed in Roma’s direction.
The one certainty is that everyone involved is looking for a swift resolution to the matter. Tottenham are squarely in the midst of their preseason preparations. They need to know whether or not they can count on Alderweireld as a member of next year’s starting XI.
Roma need to either sign Alderweireld quickly or move on to other targets to solidify their back line. If they can’t come to an agreement with Spurs quickly, they’ll be forced to shift their attention to other centre backs available in the market.