Jan Vertonghen

"Defender, Jan Vertonghen, was born on 24th April 1987 in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium. A Belgian international, Vertonghen joined Dutch side Ajax and their famed academy in 2003, before signing professionally with them in 2006. He went on to play over 200 times in all competitions for them, landing the title in 2011 and 2012. A regular captain of the team, Jan was also named Dutch 'Player of the Year' in 2012. Jan joined Tottenham Hotspur from Ajax in the summer of 2012 and is one of the club's longest-serving players. The defender enjoyed a fantastic first campaign at Tottenham Hotspur in 2012/13, culminating in a place in the PFA's Premier League 'Team of the Year,' voted for by his peers. Switching between central defence and left-back, he played in 34 of the 38 Premier League fixtures and made a total of 49 appearances of 54 in all competitions. He was the only player to start all 12 matches in the Europa League and found the target six times. His second season at Tottenham Hotspur in 2013/14 was hit by injuries, but he was back to his best in 2014/15. The following season he was reunited with central defensive partner Toby Alderweireld, with the pair having previously played together at Ajax. He enjoyed an excellent 2016/17 campaign as Tottenham Hotspur returned to the UEFA Champions League fray and finished second in the Premier League, starting 42 games in all competitions either as part of a back three or four despite a five-week lay-off from injury. The following season, 2017/18, he was near ever-present and scored his first goal since October 2013 with a long-range strike in a 3-0 FA Cup third round victory over AFC Wimbledon in January, 2018. During Vertonghen's seventh season with Tottenham Hotspur in the 2018/19 season, he produced a memorable performance filling in as a left wing-back in the 3-0 home win over Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16 in February, 2019, scoring one goal and assisting another. He began the 2019/20 season in the final year of his contract with Tottenham Hotspur. Jan was a member of the Belgian squad which qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and subsequently made it through to the quarter-finals in Brazil before losing to Argentina. He scored the winner against South Korea in the group stage of the tournament. He subsequently represented his nation at Euro 2016 and in October, 2017, he became the all-time leading appearance-maker for Belgium by winning his 97th cap. In the summer of 2018, he was part of the Belgium squad that finished third at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, scoring in the knockout stages against Japan."