Agent Confirms Several Clubs are Interested in Signing Tottenham Defender Jan Vertonghen

The agent of Tottenham Hotspur centre half Jan Vertonghen has confirmed a number of clubs are interested in the Belgian centre half, but refused to confirm whether one of them is Barcelona.

Having hinted earlier in the year that his future in north London would depend on whether the club qualified for next season's Champions League, Vertonghen said before the World Cup that he was happy to remain at Spurs.

However, renewed speculation linking the 27-year-old with a move to the Nou Camp has emerged in recent days and the defender's agent has revealed a number of clubs have made their interest in his client known.

"Several teams are interested in Jan," Vertonghen's agent Mustapha Nakhli told Het Nieuwsblad. "I cannot confirm or deny whether Barcelona are one of them.

"Tottenham is not a small club. It is too soon to give an answer. Several clubs have registered their interest in Jan. We'll see."

Barcelona manager Luis Enrique is on the lookout for at least one centre half this summer, a task which has been made more urgent by his desire to restore Javier Mascherano in midfield. The Catalan giants have been frustrated in their attempts to prise 20-year-old Marquinhos from Paris Saint Germain so far and Mundo Deportivo suggest the club have now turned to Vertonghen.

The Belgian, who arrived at Tottenham from Ajax for a fee of £10m in 2012, assured supporters he would return to the club following Belgium's World Cup campaign, despite uncertainty over who would be leading the club at the time.

"I've got a couple more years at Tottenham and I'm happy, and I want to stay there, so it doesn't matter who the manager will be," Vertonghen said, speaking in May.

Tottenham today confirmed that goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has signed a new five year contract at White Hart Lane, ending speculation regarding his future and keeping him at the club until July 2019.