Tottenham should sign Matthijs De Ligt

Tottenham will not be favored in this battle but it would be a smart move for them to sign Ajax captain Matthijs De Ligt this summer.

This summer Tottenham will likely lose Toby Alderweireld and are better off for it.  Though the Belgian star is a talented player he has for too long placed more importance in his contract than in his team and teammates.  It’s his right to do so and Tottenham can often be accused of penny pinching their stars but it was in bad taste this year.  At one point Tottenham were competing for the title this season.  When something historic is on the table the best thing to do is pocket your concerns about how many more millions you would ideally be earning and get on with the football.

Alderweireld’s contract has a mightily low release clause and it is because of this any number of larger clubs in Europe will likely sign him and give him the money he desires.  Tottenham should replace him then with Dutch sensation Matthijs De Ligt.  Not only for the Dutchman’s undeniable ability but also because he is one of the best leaders in modern football even for his age.

Tottenham’s biggest issue at this point has nothing to do with talent and everything to do with mentality.  The club is too polite and too soft-spoken a lot of the time.  They accept their place and rank politely when they should be smashing their way to the top and telling everyone else they’re lucky to have been there.

That’s the mentality that this current Ajax team has and De Ligt is the captain of it.  He would improve Tottenham’s defense.  He might even turn it into the sort of air tight defense Chelsea once had under Jose Mourinho and then it wouldn’t even matter that Tottenham still had Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Heung Min-Son, Lucas Moura and Christian Eriksen in the team.  Tottenham would immediately be title contenders simply on the strength of their defense.

Tottenham must do a better job building a winning mentality at the club.  For too long Spurs supporters have had to suffer through a team that is more concerned with balancing the checkbook and displaying tidy fiscal numbers instead of winning trophies despite having one of the most talented sides in the world.

A big signing like De Ligt tells everyone else in world football that Tottenham are trying to take part in competition at the top not simply spectate.