da spicy bet： In what was one of Tottenham’s longest-running transfer sagas, the ‘will he stay or will he go’ drama surrounding Toby Alderweireld over these past couple of seasons finally came to an a couple of months ago.
da cassino： The Belgium international has been linked with a move away for the longest time, with Manchester United often being a team perennially linked with sealing his signature.
But in a twist of fate earlier this season, it was confirmed that Spurs had agreed terms with the centre-back over a new deal, and that his future at the club was tied down until 2023.
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It meant that speculation he could leave on a free transfer this summer (his contract was set to expire come the end of the campaign) could be put to bed. Or should it?
The man signed for £11.4m from Atletico Madrid whilst Mauricio Pochettino was in charge has had a largely disappointing campaign this season. As per Whoscored, the Belgian’s average match rating of 6.79 puts him tenth amongst all Spurs players – behind even Jan Vertonghen (6.85) and just barely ahead of Tanguy Ndombele (6.76).
Perhaps even more damaging for the centre-back, is that his average of 1.2 tackles per game ranks him 13th – the same number as the likes of Ndombele, Steven Bergwijn and Lucas Moura. His interception numbers are also poor at just one per game, the same as Harry Winks. Compared to his own career average, Alderweireld’s numbers for tackling, interceptions, pass accuracy and just overall match rating are all down this campaign.
So having gotten him to sign a new deal with the club, Spurs have ensured they won’t be losing him for free this summer, and have done well to protect his market value. That should encourage ENIC and Daniel Levy to consider the tough decision of cashing out on a player who just committed his future to Spurs.
Whilst it would be ruthless, Spurs could get decent money for the centre-back once again, and ensure they also get rid of a player who appears to be showing clear signs of regression.
Meanwhile, Spurs must finally bring an end to this AVB signing’s career.