Tottenham Hotspur duo Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen have been hailed by Jamie Carragher.
Pundit Jamie Carragher has told The Telegraph that he feels Toby Alderweireld has been the Premier League’s outstanding centre back in 2017 – and team-mate Jan Vertonghen isn’t far behind.
Whilst Spurs were known as being flimsy defensively and leaked too many goals, but that has all changed under Mauricio Pochettino, as Spurs have become arguably the Premier League’s top defence.
Spurs conceded just 35 goals in the 2015-16 season, the joint-lowest number in the Premier League, whilst they conceded just 26 goals last season, by far the lowest in the division.
This term, Tottenham have conceded only five goals in seven games, with just two Premier League rivals – Manchester City and Manchester United – boasting better defensive records so far.
One of the keys to Tottenham’s defensive improvement was the signing of centre back Toby Alderweireld in the summer of 2015, landing him from Atletico Madrid after impressing on loan for Southampton.
Alderweireld has emerged as arguably the Premier League’s top centre back, and his partnership with Jan Vertonghen has been vital in the heart of the Tottenham defence.
Not only do Alderweireld and Vertonghen play together in the Belgium back line, but they also played together at Ajax, with their partnership continuing to impress with Spurs.
Now, pundit Jamie Carragher has named both Alderweireld and Vertonghen in his Premier League team of 2017, alongside Spurs team-mate Harry Kane, noting to The Telegraph that Alderweireld is ‘outstanding’ – and Vertonghen isn’t far behind.
“I think Alderweireld last season was the outstanding centre-back,” said Carragher. “Alongside him his mate wasn’t far behind him, Vertonghen. A great defensive record under Mauricio Pochettino,” he added.
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