Wednesday 8 July 2015 16:30, UK
With Tottenham having confirmed the signing of Toby Alderweireld from Atletico Madrid, we look at what the former Southampton loanee will bring to White Hart Lane.
From his mental strength to his distribution from the back, the Belgian defender has a wide array of skills to offer Mauricio Pochettino’s team.
Here are five of the key qualities that Alderweireld could offer Spurs in 2015/16…
Character
When Alderweireld departed Atletico Madrid for his loan move to Southampton last summer, Diego Simeone praised the defender along with fellow leaver David Villa. “Those are men,” said the Argentine coach in acknowledging the ‘thank-you call’ he received from them. Alderweireld is a mature character with good leadership skills – something that became clear within months of his arrival at St Mary’s. Saints boss Ronald Koeman hailed him as a “strong influence” who “helped others around him” and in a Tottenham defence lacking experience that could prove significant.
His experience has helped to improve some of the players around him. He is still young, but he is an international and knows the levels you need in the Champions League.
Reliability
Spurs supporters saw more than their fair share of defensive slip-ups last season. According to Opta, there were no fewer than eight different Tottenham players who made errors leading to goals in the Premier League in 2014/15. Indeed, only Everton endured more different players culpable for conceding a goal. In contrast, the statistics show that Alderweireld didn’t even make an error leading to a shot during his time at Southampton let alone a goal. That’s the sort of reliability Pochettino will be looking for from his new signing.
Distribution
It’s not all about mental characteristics. With the ball at his feet, Alderweireld offers the opportunity for Tottenham to add a dimension to their game with his distribution out of defence. In particular, his long-range passing is a real weapon. Alderweireld hit 135 accurate long passes last season, ranking among the top 15 outfield players. Of those who attempted more, only five found a team-mate more regularly – and they included Steven Gerrard and Cesc Fabregas. It’ll be intriguing to see whether this is an aspect of Alderweireld’s game that Pochettino will encourage.
Savvy
Those passing skills were honed at Ajax where, as Koeman has pointed out, “it is more important to play with the ball”, but it’s Alderweireld’s time at Atletico that could prove just as vital to Spurs. It was there that Koeman acknowledges that the player “learned a lot about the defensive tactics of the coach” and Alderweireld himself described Simeone as “tactically the best coach I have ever seen”. Throw in the year of Premier League experience that the 26-year-old has picked up and there is every reason to think he can add rather more savvy than the likes of young Englishman Eric Dier.
Teamwork
It seems likely that Pochettino envisages pairing the right-footed Alderweireld alongside left-footed Jan Vertonghen in the Tottenham defence and the duo’s existing relationship offers hope that this is a partnership that could prosper. The two men won back-to-back Eredivisie titles together at Ajax and were also part of Belgium’s World Cup squad last year. “It would be very nice to play again with Jan,” said Alderweireld in March. He’s got his wish and now Tottenham supporters will be hoping that they’ll enjoy the reunion as much as the players themselves.
