It's the end of an era at Tottenham Hotspur.

After eight years with the club, Jan Vertonghen has announced that he's set to leave North London this summer.

The 33-year-old is out of contract following the end of the Premier League season, and after failing to agree a new deal it seems that the time has come to move on.

While the news of his departure is not exactly a shock for many supporters, it's still a bitter blow for many who regard him as a real stalwart of the Spurs team.

Vertonghen revealed the news on social media on Monday morning in a heartfelt tweet.

It read: "So my time at the club comes to an end. A sad day for many reasons.

"I will miss the friends I’ve made here, the staff that make the club run, playing at the amazing new stadium & of course you fans.

"Thank you for all the support over the years. You’ve been amazing. We had many unbelievable memories but for now, it’s goodbye."

For Tottenham Hotspur, the challenge is to try and find a suitable replacement.

While no player is yet to be formally identified as his successor, there's been plenty of speculation around who could do the job.

The Evening Standard have used scouting tool SmarterScout to identify four players who have the necessary attributes to step in as an able replacement for the Belgian.

Here are the players that they chose.

Issa Diop (West Ham)

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The West Ham United defender was linked with a move to Spurs in the January transfer window and so could be a genuine contender to replace Jan Vertonghen.

A left-sided centre-back, Diop is regarded as a ball-playing defender with a strong aerial success rate - something that ticks all of the boxes for a replacement.

The only issue - and it's a big one - is whether West Ham would sell their star player to their arch rival.

Diego Llorente (Real Sociedad)

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The 26-year-old is another player who possesses both the physical and technical skills to replace the Belgian.

After coming through the youth set-up at Real Madrid, Llorente is now a first team regular with Real Sociedad in La Liga.

The Spaniard could be available this summer and based on the statistics he could be an ideal match for Spurs.

Marin Pongracic (VFL Wolfsburg)

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The 22-year-old only moved to Wolfsburg in January, but is already being tipped for a big move to the Premier League.

Likened to Mats Hummels, the defender seems to possess the necessary statistics to thrive at Spurs.

It's just his lack of experience that could mean that he's not quite ready to be a direct replacement.

Jack O'Connell (Sheffield United)

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The 26-year-old is another player who was linked with Tottenham in January.

A player who loves getting forward, O'Connell is comfortable at both left-back and centre-back, meaning that he could be be the ideal replacement for Jan Vertonghen.

Whether Sheffield United will be willing to let such a key player leave, however, is widely up for debate.