Jan Vertonghen Confirms Tottenham Exit After Eight Years in North London

Jan Vertonghen has confirmed his exit from Tottenham Hotspur following the expiration of his contract, labelling it a ‘sad day’ as he leaves the club after eight years in north London. Back-up goalkeeper Michel Vorm has also been released.

Vertonghen, who joined Spurs from Ajax in 2012 and played over 300 games in that time, is now available to prospective new clubs as a free agent ahead of next season.

The 33-year-old Belgian was initially due to be out of contract at the end of June but agreed a temporary extension to his deal to cover until the end of the delayed campaign.

Taking to Twitter the morning after the final day of the 2019/20 season against Crystal Palace, Vertonghen said, “So my time at the club comes to an end. A sad day for many reasons.

“I will miss the friends I’ve made here, the staff that make the club run, playing at the amazing new stadium [and] of course you fans.”

A statement from the club read, “…we thank Jan for his tremendous service and wish him every success in the future. He will always be a valued member of the Spurs family.”

Since making the switch to English football, Vertonghen established himself as one of the best defenders in Europe - both with Spurs and Belgium’s national team - and was a crucial part of the club climbing the Premier League ladder and becoming a regular Champions League qualifier.

Those achievements peaked with a second place Premier League finish in 2016/17 and reaching the 2019 Champions League final against Liverpool.

Vorm ultimately only played sparingly for Spurs during his six years at the club, moving from Swansea in 2014 to be an understudy to Hugo Lloris. Despite being released in 2019, Vorm was re-signed to a short-term deal last October as extra cover while Lloris was injured.

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