Alderweireld hopes to link up with Batshuayi at Spurs

British media have reported the 22-year-old, who scored 17 goals in Ligue 1 with Marseille last season, is a target for Premier League clubs and he has already rejected a move to Crystal Palace, with Spurs and Chelsea also interested.

(Reuters)

"Do I hope Batshuayi comes to Tottenham? Yes of course," Alderweireld told British media. "He has a lot of qualities.

"The problem of course is that at that position Tottenham already has Harry Kane, while there is a lot of interest for Batshuayi (from other clubs)."

Alderweireld also suggested a lack of winter break during the Premier League season may have contributed to England's humiliating exit from the European Championship at the hands of Iceland on Monday.

"Who am I, of course, to judge them, but the Premier League must urgently think about a rest period in a European Championship or World Cup year," he said.

"We are working day by day for a year. When the other leagues take a winter break, we just gear up.

"That creeps into your clothes and translates into the elimination of England."

(Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)