Toby Alderweireld has claimed that he never considered leaving Tottenham Hotspur before signing his new contract, per The London Evening Standard.

What’s the word?

The Belgium international committed his future to the club last week, signing a contract until 2023.

Football FanCast understands that he can earn up to £180,000-per-week with bonuses after lengthy negotiations with Spurs.

And he has now claimed that he never considered departing the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

He said: “I understand the questions were there but I never thought about leaving.

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“I don't like to talk about myself but the only thing I can say about myself is that every game I do everything on the pitch that I can. Everything.

“I think that's why maybe we have a good connection, the fans and me. I'm very happy and it was always in my mind to stay. It's easy to talk now like this after I signed a deal but hand on my heart it's true.

“Of course [Mourinho] is an influence but in a decision like this there's a lot of things to consider. You talk with your family, of course my wife. I'm 30, you think, 'Do I want something else?'

“The more I was thinking, 'What am I going to do?' the more my decision went towards Spurs. At the end, it was not a difficult decision.”

Never an offer

Per sources, Spurs never actually made an offer to Alderweireld under Mauricio Pochettino’s management.

The Belgium international was deemed expendable by the Argentine and an offer would have been accepted had it been tabled.

However, Mourinho had a major role in convincing the 30-year-old to remain in north London.

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He wanted to sign Alderweireld during his time at Manchester United and made it clear to chairman Daniel Levy that he deemed the former Southampton man an integral part of his starting XI.

It is a win for Mourinho and one has to believe that Pochettino would have merely allowed his contract to run out and move on.

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