Tottenham Hotspur defender Toby Alderweireld looks set to leave this summer.
Whilst Tottenham Hotspur picked up a superb 3-1 win over Chelsea on Sunday, the saga surrounding defender Toby Alderweireld continues to be a cloud hanging over the club.
The Belgian international defender, 29, has excelled for Spurs since his 2015 move from Atletico Madrid, starring alongside Jan Vertonghen in the heart of the Tottenham defence.
However, with the defender wanting a new contract and no new deal looking close, Alderweireld looks set for a summer move away from North London, and he continues to be left on the Spurs bench.
Alderweireld hasn’t played in the Premier League since October, and having been an unused substitute in recent weeks, his Tottenham career looks to be coming to an end.
Intriguingly though, Alderweireld’s situation has become good news for one Tottenham attacker, as Son Heung-min is benefiting from his omission right now.
Mauricio Pochettino regularly used a 3-4-2-1 system with Alderweireld alongside Vertonghen and Davinson Sanchez in the back three, whilst Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen supported striker Harry Kane in attack.
However, Pochettino’s refusal to bring Alderweireld back in means he has been playing Sanchez and Vertonghen together in the heart of a back four, allowing Son to start alongside Alli and Eriksen in support of Kane.
Son, 25, has dazzled with 18 goals in all competitions this season, and has become so important to Pochettino’s approach that Alderweireld can’t force his way back in – and that’s a huge rise for the South Korean given that he almost left the club in the summer of 2016.
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