Tottenham End of Season Review: Toby Alderweireld

Since joining Tottenham Hotspur, Toby Alderweireld’s inclusion into Mauricio Pochettino’s starting XI has made the Belgian international one of Spurs’ key members during their best season in the Premier League.

After spending a season-long loan in the Premiership last term with Southampton, Toby Alderweireld would return permanently for the 2015-16 campaign, but instead as a member of Tottenham’s restructured backline in an £11.5 million transfer from Atlético Madrid.

The 27-year-old wasn’t the most expensive summer signing last year for Tottenham, nor was he the first or last signing made. But, Alderweireld was the most important piece needed, and his play on the pitch has garnered plenty of recognition by pundits and supporters alike, as the best signing Spurs have made in recent years.

Because of his ironman-like season in which Toby Alderweireld managed to play in 49 out of 53 total matches (4,410 minutes), he heavily contributed to Spurs’ improved defense in which they only conceded 35 goals (currently the second best in the Premier League as of this writing).

The Belgian defender’s effort didn’t go unnoticed as he would go on to pick up four individual honors: PFA Team of the Year, Supporters Clubs’ Player of the Season, One Hotspur Members’ Player of the Season and Facebook Defender of the Year.

Those four awards show quite easily, the kind of impact Alderweireld has had defensively with Tottenham this season. According to WhoScored, in 38 Premier League games, he made 1.2 tackles per game and 1.7 interceptions per game while only fouling his opponents 0.2 times per game.

If those statistics look good, there’s more. A big reason why Spurs’ defense has been one of the best this year in the Premiership has been because of Toby Alderweireld and his 7.5 clearances per game as well as his 0.9 blocks per game.

LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 23: Toby Alderweireld of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates his team’s 3-1 win in the Barclays Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur at Selhurst Park on January 23, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images) /

More or less, teams are finding it difficult to breakdown Tottenham’s defense and while it’s a collective effort, it can’t be stressed how much Toby Alderweireld has helped fix a once troubling position after conceding 53 goals with a revolving door at center-back last season.

The Belgian international rarely took a game off for the Lilywhites which not only shows Alderweireld’s durability by playing in two competitions (the Premier League and Europa League), but also how much he has meant to Mauricio Pochettino’s starting XI this term.

For the first half of the 2015-16 campaign, Alderweireld would partner up with his compatriot in Jan Vertonghen. But after Vertonghen suffered an injury on January 23rd, Kevin Wimmer would play in his place.

This should have doomed Spurs defensively speaking but because Toby Alderweireld has been one of Tottenham’s best players all year long, and consistently to boot, the defense didn’t suffer any lapses.

In fact, it came to a point that it got even better with a Wimmer/Alderweireld partnership than a Vertonghen/Alderweireld combination.

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Now, along with proving to be a shrewd signing on defense, something that could be overlooked at times is Toby Alderweireld’s offensive abilities.

Surely four goals and two assists is quite a haul for a central defender, but it’s how the Belgian international put those skills to use.

When Alderweireld has the ball at his feet, he tends to look for a long ball over the top or go diagonally to the wide areas where Spurs’ full-backs and/or wingers are waiting for a quick counterattack.

Using Whoscored once again, Alderweireld’s offensive statistics are something to marvel at. He has managed to average 54.6 passes per game with a passing accuracy of 80.5 percent. All the while, managing to distribute at least 6.3 long balls per game.

A couple of those long balls have been to Dele Alli which resulted in two assists for the Belgian defender. As for the four goals scored, it shows that Toby Alderweireld is now one of Tottenham’s go-to targets on set pieces, especially on corners.

Alderweireld’s presence on offense has helped spread out Tottenham’s goals to help incorporate other players when you least expect it. Just like Eric Dier has been a target for headers on set pieces, Toby Alderweireld is another player to watch out for.

Essentially, the Belgian international is a complete player for Tottenham.

Next: Tottenham End of Season Review: Kevin Wimmer

Currently, there are no other words to describe Alderweireld’s performance in his debut year with Tottenham other than phenomenal.

Spurs needed to fix their defense after conceding 53 goals with a revolving door at center-back in front of Hugo Lloris. And now with Alderweireld and Vertonghen occupying both positions, Mauricio Pochettino can relax a little bit, knowing that defense is no longer a problem — except giving the 27-year-old a bit more rest.

Which is something minor for the time being.

Final Grade: A+

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