Barca ready to swoop for former Ajax captain.
Head coach Mauricio Pochettino’s hopes of keeping Jan Vertonghen at Tottenham Hotspur could be dashed as Barcelona are plotting a big-money bid for the Belgium defender, according to the London Evening Standard.
The 27-year-old, who has two years left to run on his current Spurs contract, looks set to be the subject of a £17.5m offer from Catalonia.
Spurs paid Ajax £9.6m for Vertonghen when they brought him to White Hart Lane in July 2012.
Despite being close to completing the £75m signing of Liverpool striker Luis Suarez, Barcelona should have plenty of funds left for their pursuit of Vertonghen, having sold Cesc Fabregas to Chelsea for £32m.
Barca are poised to recoup a further £31.7m by selling Chile winger Alexis Sanchez to Arsenal.
Vertonghen prefers to play at centre-half, but, as a confident ball-player, he is capable of operating as a full-back as well.
He played at left-back for Belgium during their campaign at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
In five World Cup appearances, Vertonghen made 11 tackles, 12 interceptions and 22 clearances, as well as blocking four shots.
He completed 159 passes, attempted 19 crosses and scored one goal.