Toby Alderweireld's New Contract: Sanchez Waiting Last Word on Football

Career So Far

Since arriving at the club in 2015, Alderweireld has made himself a big name at the club and in the Premier League. He has appeared 125 times in the Premier League, scoring six goals. Including his time with Southampton, he has kept 49 clean sheets.

This is quite impressive and entirely reflective of his fantastic defensive ability. This current season and the last has been a more troubling one for Alderweireld, with injury and selections keeping him sidelined. Davinson Sanchez and Jan Vertonghen are often preferred as a pair by Pochettino.

Nevertheless, recently he has made his return with some good displays. However, he hasn’t seemed his invincible self. Perhaps it is simply because he is a player that needs to be involved in every match every week.

This would explain his lack of consistency and individual errors recently. However, the contract extension shows that he still has a central role in the squad and his experience will be invaluable this season and the next.

Hope?

A lowly release clause in Alderweireld’s new contract suggests the player will be snapped up in the summer. Indeed, there is no doubt that clubs will meet that £25 million clause. Also, this will no doubt include suitors from Manchester United, to the likes of Real Madrid or any other top European clubs.

Alderweireld would be a fool to not consider any of these moves. However, any deal that he wishes to negotiate must be settled within a two-week window in the summer. Most transfers tend to have a saga that involves a lot of time spent arguing over wages, bonuses and agent fees.

Thus, there is so much to agree before Alderweireld can even sign for another club. As such, the release clause doesn’t spell doom entirely. However, it does suggest that he will move in the not so distant future. And thus, Spurs must prepare for life without him.

Davinson Sanchez

If Alderweireld is on the way out, then Spurs have Sanchez. He is far from the finished product but is younger than his Belgian team-mate. However, the Colombian centre-back possesses both the pace and strength to be just as effective physically.

Sanchez doesn’t have the same raking cross-field diagonals as Alderweireld, preferring to play shorter balls. However, he is similar in the way that he can carry the ball forward or play it out from the back.

There have been some moments where he has been caught out when trying to do this. Nevertheless, he has always shown the desire to move forward and take control of a match.