Toby Alderweireld, Tottenham

Alderweireld happy at Tottenham as he avoids talk of Man Utd activating £25m release clause

Toby Alderweireld says he's "very happy" to have extended his stay at Tottenham despite reports that Manchester United are ready to activate a £25 million ($32m) release clause in his contract in the summer.

The Belgium defender saw Spurs trigger their option to extend his stay in London until 2020 earlier in January, but in doing so could see the 29-year-old snapped up in the summer for a relatively low price if another club matches the buyout.

United have been linked with an interest in the centre-back's services for some time, but Alderweireld – who starred in Spurs' Carabao Cup win over Chelsea – claims that his good performances prove that he is still 100 per cent committed.

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"I'm very happy to stay another year," he said after Tuesday's victory, refusing to be drawn on whether a longer stay might be on the cards.

"It was a one-year extension in my contract and I'm happy that Spurs gave me the confidence to stay another year.

Asked specifically about the £25m clause, he added: "People can see that every time I play I give 100% for this club – I do that every time I play. I'm only focused on thing on the pitch.

"This is my fourth season and I'm very happy. I'm doing everything to help the team."

Harry Kane netted the only goal of the match as Spurs emerged 1-0 winners against Chelsea at Wembley, but only after being awarded a penalty via a controversial VAR call.

Indeed, the decision reached by way of technology even irked victorious boss Mauricio Pochettino, but right-back Kieran Trippier feels that the call was correct – even if it did take longer than he would have liked.

"It's important," said the England full-back. "If VAR wasn't there Harry would have been given offside.

"But if you look at the Rochdale game [in last season's FA Cup], it took five minutes per decision. It's a work in progress and hopefully it will speed up.

"We had the momentum in the game and it took maybe a minute and a half [for a decision]. Sometimes it can take the momentum out of the game. That's the only criticism I have."

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