Tottenham 2017-18 Player Preview: Jan Vertonghen
By Ryan Wrenn
Next up in HotspurHQ’s Tottenham player preview is defensive stalwart Jan Vertonghen, who will start the season as the oldest outfield player in the side.
The rest of Tottenham’s strongest XI average out at about 25.6 years of age, which makes 30-year-old Vertonghen look positively ancient.
In reality, that average will likely be even lower. Ben Davies — 24 — will start the season in place of the injured Danny Rose, who just turned 27 in July. Mousa Dembélé will also be starting his season on the wrong side of 30, and might lose starts to 21-year-old Harry Winks or one of the slew of other young players Tottenham are linked with on the transfer market.
None of which should be misinterpreted as doubt about Vertonghen’s importance to this team. The Belgian remains an invaluable leader in the outfield, and his mobility and timing are the seed around which Spurs’ best-in-the-league defense grew.
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That said, Vertonghen looks the most vulnerable member of the defense coming into the new season. Ankle injuries kept him out for significant stretches of time the past two seasons, and age will only make him more susceptible to such issues.
If — or, hopefully, when — Tottenham reinforce at centre-back this summer, it will be Vertonghen’s job most under threat. Rumored targets like Swansea’s Alfie Mawson or Middlesbrough’s Ben Gibson are both younger and English — the latter of which is more important following Kyle Walker’s departure and whispers about Danny Rose.
To his credit, Vertonghen’s shook off and even thrived under competition before. When injury kept Vertonghen sidelined for 16 games in 2015/16, newcomer Kevin Wimmer stepped up and performed above expectations. Many at the time saw him as a long term replacement for Vertonghen who, even at 28, looked like he might be aging out of his job at Spurs.
Only that didn’t happen. Vertonghen surged back after healing up and held tight to his starting role for the remainder of that season and throughout 2016/17. Indeed, he should feel aggrieved for not joining Rose and Walker in the PFA Team of the Year last season.
Now, with Wimmer more or less successfully vanquished, Vertonghen needs another reason to keep his game sharp. Mawson or Gibson would provide nice impetus while also serving as good rotation options.
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Don’t be too surprised though if we get another full-ish season from Vertonghen. Plenty of other elite Premier League centre-backs continue to thrive well into their 30s, and Vertonghen looks better equipped than most to compete for a job for some time yet.