Why Manchester City should avoid signing Jan Vertonghen
According to The Telegraph, Tottenham ace Jan Vertonghen has emerged as a transfer target for Manchester City ahead of the upcoming transfer window.
Vertonghen, 33, spent time at the academies of VK Tielrode and Germinal Beerschot before joining Ajax’s youth set-up in 2003. Having come through the ranks of the Dutch outfit’s youth system, he made 220 appearances for them in 9 years, helping the Dutch giants lift two league titles.
In the summer of 2012, he was signed by Tottenham and the defender went on to establish himself as one of the best centre-backs in Tottenham’s history, making 315 appearances to date. The £100,000-a-week star was also instrumental in helping the North London outfit reach the finals of the Champions League for the first time in their history.
However, since then, he has not been at his best and has seen limited game time under Jose Mourinho this season.
Vertonghen could be surplus to Manchester City
City, meanwhile, have struggled this season, which eventually led to their failure in defending the league title. They have not been at their dominant best this season as they were in the previous title-winning campaigns. And the 18-point gap with league leaders Liverpool shows how far they have fallen from being the best.
One of the chief reasons for their downfall is the lack of consistency at the back. They have already conceded 35 goals so far, which is poor according to their standards. They had let in just 23 goals in the whole of the last season. Thus, City boss Pep Guardiola has a lot of work to do in the summer if they are to do better next campaign.
The Cityzens failed to bring in a replacement for Vincent Kompany, who left at the end of last season. Aymeric Laporte was supposed to lead their defence but the Frenchman fell a victim to a major injury.
Other centre-backs, Nicolas Otamendi and John Stones have struggled with poor form and inconsistency, which led the manager to turn towards Fernandinho to look after the defensive duties.
However, that move didn’t help City in their cause as they were beaten by a few teams below their level. Thus, a central defender is a must in the summer if they are to lift themselves and tighten their backline in the future.
To that end, signing Vertonghen would make no sense for the English outfit. The Belgian is already 33 and reaching the twilight of his career. He hasn’t been up to the mark and has lost his importance due to ageing. Signing him would cost City their resources as he would most likely end up on the bench. They have brought in Eric Garcia from the reserve side and they must use him as he is young and has shown potential.
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Verdict
At 33, Vertonghen has not much left to offer in the future. He has already played enough at the highest level and would be good if he moves elsewhere. City need to inject their squad with young blood who can provide them with strength at the back in the future. Thus, the Cityzens should keep their eyes of the former Ajax man and instead go for in-form defenders in the summer transfer window.
