Mourinho keen for Vertonghen and Eriksen to follow Alderweireld with new Tottenham deals

Jose Mourinho wants to see both Jan Vertonghen and Christian Eriksen commit their futures to Tottenham after Toby Alderweireld signed a new contract on Friday.

Alderweireld had been out of contract at the end of this season but extended his deal until 2023.

Vertonghen and Eriksen continue to edge towards free agency, though, and the Denmark playmaker has been repeatedly linked with moves to Manchester United and Real Madrid.

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy suggested this week the club would be open to selling Eriksen to a direct rival in January, but Mourinho is still hoping to keep the player.

"The only thing I tell you about Christian is that I would like him to sign a new contract," Mourinho told reporters. "Apart from that, I don't tell you anything else."

Asked if he wanted Vertonghen to follow Alderweireld's lead too, the head coach said: "Yes.

"I think a player will sign a contract when the club wants. I am the club. Mr Levy is the club. When the club wants, when the player wants, when the family wants, when the agent wants...

"If one of these parts doesn't want, it's very, very difficult to happen, unless the player changes agent and gets an agent that also wants. So, when everybody wants.

"But again, the most important thing is what Toby said: 'I couldn't be happier in another place'. Amazing."

After securing the contracts of key men, Mourinho's next task will be to turn Tottenham from an "almost" team into winners.

Spurs have repeatedly finished in the top four of the Premier League, seriously competing for the title in 2015-16, and reached the Champions League final last term.

But their last piece of silverware came under Juande Ramos in the 2007-08 EFL Cup, beating Sunday's opponents and Mourinho's former club Chelsea in the final.

"It's better to be close than be far. If you don't win, it's better to be close to winning than far from winning," Mourinho said.

"Tottenham was close to winning the league when Leicester City won, was close to winning the Champions League last year, was close to winning some cups I played the final of, the [EFL] Cup.

"We are going to try, of course we are going to try. That's not my DNA, to be comfortable with 'almost'. I never liked very much the 'almost'. But in terms of progression, 'almost' is better than 'far from'."