AS Roma reportedly agreed personal terms with Toby Alderweireld over the summer but failed to meet Tottenham’s asking price which resulted in the deal breaking down. The Italian Serie A giants could return in January, however, as Alderweireld will be able to sign a pre-contract deal at the turn of the year.
After missing out on the 30-year-old, Roma signed Chris Smalling on a season-long loan from Manchester United. He’ll return to Old Trafford at the end of the campaign, so the Giallorossi could be in the market for a replacement. Alderweireld won’t cost them a penny, so he might still be on their wishlist.
According to Wayne Veysey of the Football Insider, Tottenham are willing to offload the Belgian international in January if they can locate a replacement, but overseas clubs aren’t likely to pay money to sign a player that will be free the following summer.
Roma can offer Alderweireld a contract in January that would see him switch clubs after his deal expires at Tottenham. The Serie A side would only have to worry about personal terms. It’s bad news for Spurs as they were once hopeful of getting £20m for the defender only months ago.