Vertonghen wary of ´world-class´ Fiorentina

Fiorentina stand in the way of Tottenham and the UEFA Europa League last 16 and Jan Vertonghen is well aware of the Italian side’s threat.

Tottenham defender Jan Vertonghen is wary of Fiorentina’s “world-class” talent ahead of their UEFA Europa League clash on Thursday.

Fiorentina make the trip to White Hart Lane for the first leg of their round-of-32 meeting on Thursday, with the Premier League side looking to make the most of home advantage.

Mauricio Pochettino’s men will be well aware of the threat posed by their Serie A counterparts, with the Florence-based outfit currently sitting fourth in the Italian top flight after eight matches without defeat in all competitions.

Vertonghen was keen to stress just how much ability coach Vincenzo Montella has at his disposal, predicting the two sides to produce one of the ties of the round.

“Fiorentina have world-class players,” the Belgian told Spurs’ official website. “It will be a tight tie and quality-wise we are close to each other.

“It’s a brilliant tie. I’ve played against them before and they haven’t changed – of course, the players have but they are always competing to be in the Champions League.

“This week we’re involved in one of the best ties in this stage of the Europa League between two attacking teams and I’m sure they will be two good games.

“For us, we’re still where we want to be. It’s a shame we’re out of the FA Cup but we have a final to come in the Capital One Cup, we’re still competing in the Premier League and we’ve got two good games to come against Fiorentina, so we’re in a good way.”