Mauricio Pochettino could return to Tottenham in the coming weeks, but he’ll be coming back to find a very different looking squad.
It may have been less than two years since Pochettino left north London, but it’s fair to say that things have changed.
The likes of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Sergio Reguilon and Matt Doherty have joined the squad, while there have also been a number of changes at centre-back.
Indeed, during the Argentine’s tenure at Spurs you could almost guarantee every week that we’d be seeing Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen as the centre-half pairing, and they both did a fantastic job.
However, if Pochettino returns, he won’t be able to call upon his two trusted generals at the back anymore.
Vertonghen is long gone, and it seems as though age is finally catching up with Alderweireld, with the Belgian suffering numerous injuries this term and looking a yard slower than he has done before.
If Pochettino comes back he’ll need another centre-half pairing, and luckily, he could have one in the mould of Vertonghen and Alderweireld lined up.
In our view, Joe Rodon and Joachim Andersen could be perfect as a pairing under Pochettino.
People within Spurs apparently already view Rodon as the next Vertonghen, while the parallels to be drawn between Alderweireld and Andersen are obvious.
Spurs have been strongly linked with Andersen after a strong loan spell with Fulham, in the same way they signed Alderweireld after an impressive season with Southampton, and that’s not where the comparisons end.
Andersen, just like Alderweireld, is a great reader of the game, while also being a solid ball player and a fantastic aerial presence, and alongside Rodon, he could form a formidable young partnership.
Under Pochettino, Vertonghen and Alderweireld blossomed into two of the Premier League’s best centre-halves, and there’s reason to believe that Andersen and Rodon could do the same in his second spell.
If Andersen joins Spurs, as reports suggest he may, Pochettino could already have his next centre-half partnership waiting for him.
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