Jan Vertonghen believes Harry Kane, his Tottenham Hotspur team-mate, could benefit in the long term should he ask to be left out of the England side for the European Under-21 Championship this summer.
Kane could make his debut for the senior side in England’s forthcoming matches against Lithuania and Italy but has been earmarked to feature in the Under-21 tournament in the Czech Republic.
Mauricio Pochettino wants his striker to consider taking a month off after the end of the season although Tottenham have also scheduled a post-season tour to New South Wales after the final match against Everton on May 24, for a friendly with Sydney FC six days later.
Vertonghen played for Belgium in the U21 tournament in 2007 but says that his more recent experience of carrying an injury was more significant.
“Of course England want him,” the defender said. “He is a brilliant striker and he can be the main man, but I think he needs his rest for next season. It’s his call and I know a player always wants to play but sometimes you have to be careful.
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“It’s a difficult one because last season I played with injuries, but sometimes you just can’t. You have to think about what’s going to come. It’s difficult for me to judge.
“It’s his decision and it’s a totally different situation from when I played in 2007. Did that benefit my development as a player? It’s hard to tell. I enjoyed playing for my country because I never played international football at youth level. So that was my first tournament as a Belgium player and I enjoyed it. It was in Holland and I played in Holland for Ajax at the time, so for me it was brilliant.”
Tottenham closed to within three points of Manchester United and can move level when the two sides meet at Old Trafford on Sunday. They then face three relegation-threatened teams in Leicester City, Burnley and Aston Villa before taking on Manchester City.
“Next week’s game is massive for both teams,” Vertonghen added. “We took six points from the games against Swansea and QPR last week and we’re closer to the big teams again. After we play United, we have a better run of games that we have to win – but in our current form, we can go to Old Trafford with confidence and hopefully we can win.”