Alderweireld signs new Tottenham contract until 2023

Sam France

Alderweireld signs new Tottenham contract until 2023 image

Tottenham defender Toby Alderweireld has signed a new contract, keeping him at the north London club until 2023.

With Spurs showing improvements in recent weeks under Jose Mourinho, the 30-year-old Belgium international has committed his future to the club.

Having previously been linked with a move away, Alderweireld has made 20 appearances in all competitions this season, with Spurs currently sitting fifth in the Premier League – and just three points off the top four.

Alderweireld has been a hugely successful signing since joining from La Liga giants Atletico Madrid in 2015, but he had been widely expected to leave the club in the near future.

First signed by recently-sacked Mauricio Pochettino, his contract was set to expire at the end of this season.

"I’m very, very happy," Alderweireld told the club's website. "No words can describe it.

"Another couple of years here at Spurs, I think there is no place I could be happier. I’m honoured to play for this club, and I’m a small piece of getting the club to the next level in a couple of seasons.

"To reach the Champions League season-in, season-out and to then go to the final as well... so I think this is just the beginning of something. Something big, and something very exciting.

"If you’re happy and enjoying yourself, time flies! Football and me, my family is very happy here. I’m very lucky to have a very good connection with the fans and the club from the beginning.

"People know my history, of course I played for Ajax and I have a lot of respect for the club but now I’m a Spurs player and I couldn’t see myself playing for another team.

"I think I’ve got a love for the club and I think it goes both ways. I love the club, the fans, everything; the stadium, it’s like I’m living some sort of dream. At the beginning, when I came here, they accepted me very well, it’s like being friends.

"You couldn’t do the things we’ve done in the last couple of years if you’ve not got a very good group. Now we’ve come from young players to more adult, and now it’s time to be even better."

Alderweireld had been linked with the likes of Manchester United, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, but it appears he has decided he is happy in familiar surroundings.

Mourinho has previously suggested he won't rely on players unlikely to have a long-term future at the club - with Jan Vertonghen and Christian Eriksen's deals still set to run out in 2020.

Sam France