Toby Alderweireld to Chelsea: Tottenham star would be perfect for Blues boss Antonio Conte – Football Whispers reveal why
Defender is demanding a new contract from Mauricio Pochettino and could be heading to London rivals in the next window
WITH the summer transfer window closed, attention should turn back to the pitch, but clubs are already thinking about their next possible transfer moves.
But with one of Europe’s premier centre backs seemingly not happy with their contractual situation, Manchester City and Chelsea are already on high alert.
Toby Alderweireld is out of contract in 2019 and his agent has hinted at a possible move for the Belgian, with Spurs unwilling to pay the kind of wages offered by many of Europe’s elite clubs.
Our friends at Football Whispers look at the statistics and wonder whether Chelsea should make a huge push for the 27-year-old in January.
“If you only look at his figures, Toby is impressive, and for his performances he deserves either a better contract from Tottenham or a transfer,” warned the player’s agent, Stijn Francis.
“Even after his injury he recovered. Tottenham’s statistics fell sharply during his absence.
“For a transfer, you know that he can only leave Tottenham for seven or eight teams and almost all the other top clubs are interested in Toby.
“There are not a lot of central defenders of his kind so they are sought after. But those clubs also know that they have to negotiate with Daniel Levy.”
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In the Premier League, City and Antonio Conte’s Chelsea would be two clubs willing to fight it out for the centre-back. In his current deal, Spurs have an option to trigger a one-year extension, but it would activate a £25million release clause.
Spurs are still working on a new deal, one which would remove the clause and seal his long-term future to the club. However, Danny Rose’s recent outburst pointed out the fragile nature of the club’s wage structure and Alderweireld could be tempted to jump ship for a bumper pay-day.
Pep Guardiola spent deadline day trying to secure a deal for West Bromwich Albion’s Jonny Evans, so the Catalan boss is obviously in the market for a new centre-back. Alderweireld, who is comfortable on the ball and a composed leader on the pitch, would be perfect in his back four.
Down at Stamford Bridge, the Blues signed Antonio Rüdiger from Roma this summer, meaning they have five centre-backs at the club for the current campaign. Add in Kurt Zouma, currently on loan at Stoke City and Chelsea are stacked at the centre of the defence.
Yet, Gary Cahill isn’t getting any younger, and it remains to be seen if Andreas Christiansen can convert his Borussia Monchengladbach success into minutes under Conte.
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While Chelsea’s back three impressed last season, Alderweireld would be an instant upgrade.
Last season, the 27-year-old made just 0.3 fouls per 90 minutes, not only was this the best of any active defender in the Premier League, but compared to AC Milan’s summer signing and former Manchester City transfer target Leonardo Bonucci at 0.93, and Barcelona’s Gerard Piqué on 0.88, it’s one of the best returns in Europe too.
He committed just nine fouls in 30 league matches, compared to David Luiz up at 29. Alderweireld’s ability to judge when to tackle and when to stay on his feet puts him amongst Europe’s elite defenders.
The Belgian also led the way for Spurs when it came to clearances per 90 minutes with an average of five, a better return than Evans, Cahill and England international John Stones.
For Spurs, what he does very well is get his body in front of opponents and avert danger. He averaged 0.73 blocks per 90 minutes in the Premier League last season, more than Liverpool target Virgil van Dijk, Sergio Ramos and Gerard Piqué
Both Conte and Guardiola want a centre-back who is not only comfortable on the ball, but can pick out a pass, finding long range targets.
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Alderweireld may only complete 83 per cent of his passes – which is below the likes of Ramos and Piqué at 89 and 90 per cent – however, this is down to the type of passes he attempts.
The Spurs man is looking long, with his average passing length up at 25.77m. That means he is trying to pick out advanced full-backs, or runs in behind the defence.
Even Bonucci, regarded as one of the best passing defenders in Europe, is down at 24m and Van Dijk is further behind on 21.57m. That ability, to create from deep and shape opportunities from distance can be crucial at unlocking stubborn back-lines.
Ask the Belgian to play short and longer passes in Pep or Conte’s system and his completion percentage would increase very quickly.
Perhaps still underrated as one of the best defenders in Europe, his numbers prove he is head and shoulders above most in his position in the Premier League.
While Chelsea are already stacked in this position, he would be the perfect addition to their squad.
Any deal, even if the £25million release clause is not activated, would make him one of the signings of the season.