SL Benfica have confirmed the signing of Jan Vertonghen on a three-year deal following his departure from Tottenham. The 33-year-old had come to the end of his contract this summer and we opted against renewing it, leaving him free to talk with other clubs.
Benfica finished second in Liga NOS last season but could push FC Porto for the title in 2020/21 after some impressive recruitment, so the move makes sense.
Were we right to let Jan go?
Yes. Vertonghen made 30 appearances in all competitions last season, but he declined in his final year at Tottenham and ended up losing his starting place at centre-back as a result.
The 33-year-old started in six consecutive Premier League games between September and October but was only on the winning team twice and conceded nine times. And after returning from injury in late November, he made eight consecutive league appearances, winning just four games and conceding 11 times.
Playing time was sporadic for Vertonghen after that. In 2020, the Belgian featured in 10/18 league outings, amassing a paltry 537/1620 minutes of football. He spent most of the year as an unused substitute as Davinson Sanchez partnered Toby Alderweireld. Eric Dier and Japhet Tanganga were used at centre-back role too, so Vertonghen’s days looked numbered.
In the 23 league games with Vertonghen, we won 10 (44%), drew six (26%) and lost seven (30%), conceding 30 goals (1.3-per-game). In the 15 league games without Vertonghen, we won six (40%), drew five (33%) and lost four (27%), conceding 17 goals (1.13-per-game). We concede less without him, so his influence was clearly waning.
Who will replace Vertonghen?
Jose Mourinho isn’t short of options with Alderweireld, Sanchez, Tanganga, Juan Foyth and Dier at his disposal, but Vertonghen will need adequately replacing.
Tottenham have been linked with Milan Skriniar, Kim Min-jae, Diego Carlos, Ozan Kabak, Kristoffer Ajer, Ben Godfrey and Robin Koch in recent weeks, but it remains to be seen who comes in.
Summary
We were right to let Vertonghen leave, but we need to be smart bringing in his replacement. There are a lot of players on our radar, but we may have to be creative with how we recruit talent as our revenue has been dwindling due to the pandemic.
In other news, Jose Mourinho has a decision to make on the future of another Tottenham defender