Four men wearing balaclavas stole electrical items before fleeing. Vertonghen's wife and two children were unharmed.

The incident occurred when Vertonghen was away with Spurs for the 3-0 Champions League loss at RB Leipzig this week.

"They were masked and carrying weapons, including knives and machetes, and demanded to know where the cash and valuables were," A Tottenham spokesperson said. "Jan's wife was obviously terrified and did as she was told. The group carried out a search and fled with electronic items. 

"The family were obviously terrified, especially given Jan was away with the Spurs squad. 

"The police carried out a scene examination. Some officers did door-to-door checks to warn people and ask if anyone had seen anything as Jan's family were not the only victims and at least one neighbour had been targeted too."

A statement issued by the Metropolitan Police read: "Police were called to a residential address in NW3, at 19.49hrs on Tuesday, 10 March to a report of a burglary. Officers attended.

"It was reported four men wearing balaclavas, armed with knives, had entered the property and stolen a number of items before leaving.

"Nobody was injured. The suspects had left the scene before officers arrived.

"There have been no arrests. Enquiries continue."

Both the police and Tottenham have urged anyone with information that could assist with the enquiry to call 101 and give the reference CAD 7358/10Mar.