Chelsea linked with move for Toby Alderweireld as Tottenham star seeks pay parity with club’s top earners

Chelsea have been linked with a move for Toby Alderweireld as the Tottenham defender seeks pay parity with the club’s top earners.

As revealed by Standard Sport back in March, the Belgium international wants to earn as much as team-mates Harry Kane and Hugo Lloris.

Such a deal would be a significant increase on his current £50,000-a-week, with Kane and Lloris earning up to double that amount.

Chelsea were interested in Alderweireld back in 2015 before prioritising their pursuit of John Stones instead, who would eventually join Manchester City.

Despite Alderweireld’s obvious talent, signing a centre-back is not a pressing issue for Chelsea, and Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk remains their preferred option in any case.

But regardless of the strength of Chelsea’s interest Tottenham are unlikely to entertain an offer from their rivals, and any approach would be met by the same response to that of the Blues recent interest in Danny Rose and Kyle Walker.

But uncertainty surrounding Alderweireld’s future is unlikely to disperse unless a new deal is agreed.

While Tottenham hold an option to prolong the 28-year-old’s contract until 2020, a release clause of £25million will become active in 2019 when Alderweireld turns 30.