Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed the signing of Toby Alderweireld from Atletico Madrid this morning on a five-year contract.

The Belgian defender’s move to Spurs had been in doubt after Southampton, for whom he made 26 Premier League appearances in a loan spell last season, threatened to take legal action against Atletico Madrid should they let him sign elsewhere.

The Saints believe they had an option to sign Alderweireld for £6.8 million unless the Spanish side paid £1.5 million to buy back that clause and the deadline for such a transaction had already passed.

Alderweireld’s father Vic, who also acts as his agent, yesterday denied that his son had signed for Spurs, telling the Daily Echo: “We have a concrete agreement with no one. There are conversations right and left but currently there are no changes from the last few weeks.”

However the defender, who underwent a medical with Spurs earlier in the week, has now been confirmed as a Tottenham player.

Alderweireld told the club website: “I’m very proud to become a Spurs player. I’m very happy to be here and I hope to have a wonderful time with this team. It’s a big club and it’s always been a dream to play at a club like Spurs. Now that dream is coming true so I’m very happy, very proud and I will give my best.”

The Belgian, who will join up with several of his team-mates from the national side at Spurs, said: “From the beginning I knew a lot about it [the club] from Jan Vertonghen, Mousa Dembele and Nacer Chadli. I know the players from the national team and I played with Jan at Ajax, we had a central defensive partnership. It’s nice when you join another club that you know a couple of players. I hope to get to know them a little better now.”

The 26-year-old, who has played 47 times for the Belgian national side, is believed to have cost somewhere in the region of £11 million.