Frank De Boer: Jan Vertonghen is ‘very close’ to joining Tottenham

Frank de Boer claims Jan Vertonghen is “very close” to joining Tottenham Hotspur despite an on-going disagreement with Ajax over the defender’s share of the transfer fee.

The 25-year-old has been heavily linked with a move to Spurs this summer and the Belgian appeared on the verge of completing a move to White Hart Lane earlier in June.

However, the Ajax defender said that he would more than likely still be at the Amsterdan Arena outfit come 2 July, sparking speculation that his move to Tottenham might fall through.

But manager De Boer, who took charge of Ajax in 2010 and has since led them to successive Eredivisie titles, insists a deal will be completed despite a row over the centre-half’s portion of the fee – reported to be 15 per cent.

“We’re very close. But if the deal isn’t done, Jan must start his training next week with us,” De Boer said. “Eventually, I expect the deal will be done. I expect everything will be alright.”

Tottenham, who are without a manager since sacking Harry Redknapp a fortnight ago, are desperate to secure reinforcements in defence, with Ledley King set to retire after persistent knee injuries and Vedran Corluka moving to Lokomotiv Moscow on Wednesday.

Former Spurs manager Redknapp was a keen admirer of Vertonghen and had hoped to tie the deal up before his eventual dismissal by chairman Daniel Levy.

“Jan is a terrific passer and versatile, too. He can play at the heart of defence but also plays very comfortable at left-back,” Redknapp told the Sun three weeks ago.

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