Luis Binks recalls training-ground altercation with Tottenham star Jan Vertonghen

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Luis Binks has told the Daily Mail that hs was once involved in an angry spat with Tottenham Hotspur defender Jan Vertonghen after a coming together on the training ground, while the young English ace was still at Spurs.

Binks, 18, left Tottenham in February to join MLS side Montreal Impact where he is being coached by Arsenal legend Thierry Henry. The defender is enduring isolation in a hotel alongside Henry at the moment.

An England youth international, Jose Mourinho wanted to keep Binks at Spurs despite failing to make a single senior outing. Binks has since played four times for Henry’s side, before the global health crisis struck.

Binks gave a feature interview to the Mail, and he claimed that Vertonghen once “went mental” at a 16-year-old Binks who had been promoted to senior training – after two robust tackles between the English teen and the Belgian veteran.

“My first training session at Tottenham, I was only 16, there was a 50-50 and I went in with Jan Vertonghen,” Binks said. “I went in hard – but fair, I think – and he got up and shouted at me, ‘You f***ing idiot’.

“Literally, 20 seconds later, the same 50-50 challenge came along… I went in full blooded again and he rolled his ankle. He went mental. For six months he wouldn’t shake my hand. He’d just laugh and say, ‘You’re that kid who did me!’.”

TBR’s view – Binks could have been Vertonghen replacement

But he can hardly be criticised for leaving Tottenham earlier this year, given he is now playing alongside Victor Wanyama under one of football’s biggest icons in Henry. First choice, Binks has played all four games since joining.

Still on the radar of England’s coaches despite playing across the pond, having a few years in an up-and-coming MLS will prove enormously beneficial for Binks – and that may see Spurs regret Binks’ exit, given Vertonghen is due to leave this summer.