Tottenham Hotspur Links: Toby Alderweireld Reveals How He Joined Spurs
It’s another edition of Tottenham Hotspur Links.
Here are the stories for today. Number one, Toby Alderweireld reveals how he joined Tottenham this past summer. It’s pretty obvious why Alderweireld joined Spurs but he never went on record to talk about it. Now he has. Next up, Adrien Rabiot seems content on lobbying a move away from Paris Saint-Germain in January.
To see a player be frustrated with a lack of playing time isn’t uncommon, but putting your interests first, before the club isn’t a smart move. Look at what happened to Andros Townsend for reference. And finally, the last story is a day old but it has a small quote from Mauricio Pochettino assuring everyone that Harry Kane’s knock isn’t serious. These are the links below.
RELATED: Tottenham Links: Mauricio Pochettino Plays Down Spurs’ Top-four Spot
For many Tottenham supporters, it was obvious that Toby Alderweireld would join Spurs, once they were linked to the 26-year-old Belgian center-back. It was just a matter of time, due to an established group of Belgian footballers already on the club and playing meaningful minutes. Tottenham would eventually secure their best transfer acquisition in recent years.
Here’s Toby Alderweireld on his decision to play for Spurs:
"“I knew about the club from Jan [Vertonghen], Mousa Dembélé and Nacer Chadli when we met up with the Belgium squad,” Alderweireld told the Mirror.“They said it was a fantastic club. With the training complex and the new stadium plans, the whole package is there. I wanted to be part of it and I think I made a very good choice.”“I enjoyed English football from day one when I was with Southampton. The easier choice was to stay at Atlético. I could play my games, get my money. It would be easy.” “But I thought, ‘If I play every game, I can get better.’ I took the difficult option to go to Southampton and I am delighted to stay in England with Tottenham. I was 100 percent certain about my qualities.”"
If Spurs hadn’t signed Toby Alderweireld, there’s no way that they would reach fourth place heading into the Christmas period this season. They would also have an okay to unstable center-back pairing with Jan Vertonghen and whoever plays next to him.
It’s no secret that 20-year-old French midfielder, Adrien Rabiot, wants to get more first-team appearances. And while he has, it’s only because of injuries to Blasie Matuidi, Thiago Motta or Marco Veratti.
As a backup player for PSG it makes sense. When there’s an injury, Adrien Rabiot will play. But the thing is, if Paris Saint-Germain continues to tout that Adrien Rabiot is a talented footballer, then he deserves plenty of minutes to showcase what he can do.
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This is what Mauricio Pochettino has done for 18 months and it’s benefiting Tottenham very well. At this point it would be in PSG and Rabiot’s best interest to work out a potential transfer in January.
Although, it’s a bit worrying to see the French international lobbying for a move, by putting himself in front of the club instead. If that’s the case, then Spurs don’t need a player — no matter how talented — who believes that he’s bigger than the football club that he plays for.
Here’s PSG’s club president, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, discussing the matter:
"“He’s 20-years-old, plays regularly in a big team,” Al-Khelaifi said. “He’s come through the youth academy – the club has given him a lot. I’ll never accept that he considers himself more important than the club.“The club will always be more important than any player. He’s a big talent. My dream is that he might become captain of PSG one day. But he has to respect the club, the coach and his teammates.”“He’s part of the PSG family and he should respect it. He understood the message. He’ll be there at 100 percent in January.”"
- Harry Kane’s knock against Southampton isn’t considered serious
- [via Sky Sports]
While this news is actually a day old, it wasn’t talked about as much due to Tottenham’s win and reaching fourth place for the first time this season. The last time Tottenham were in fourth was two years, since November 3rd, 2013, after a draw against Everton on matchday 10.
After suffering what appeared to be a twisted knee, Mauricio Pochettino would sub off Kane in stoppage time for Son Heung-min. This was the only blemish during a fine afternoon for Tottenham, but Pochettino assured everyone that nothing was wrong during a post-match interview.
“He [Harry Kane] is okay. I only took him off for a pre-caution,” confirmed Pochettino. “He is confident. His character is fantastic. He is a winner. We trust and have a lot of confidence in him. The team believes in his quality.”
Next: Tottenham Winger, Clinton N'Jie, Undergoes Knee Surgery
There’s been a couple of times now where Harry Kane has taken a minor knock during games this season and perhaps it’s about time to seriously consider signing an out-and-out backup striker who could start a few games over Kane.
For Spurs to lose their star striker and number one goalscorer this season would be a major blow after already losing Clinton N’Jie for at least a month-and-a-half as he recovers from his MCL surgery. Even if Son Heung-min took over as the team’s striker if Harry Kane was injured or not, there still isn’t enough depth just yet at this position.