Toby Alderweireld opted to put pen-to-paper on a new Tottenham Hotspur when Jose Mourinho replaced Mauricio Pochettino in the dugout.
Tottenham Hotspur fans are not buying Toby Alderweireld’s comments that he didn’t sign a new deal at the club because of ‘another manager’.
When Mauricio Pochettino was in charge of Tottenham, Alderweireld’s contract in North London was due to expire, but not long after since Jose Mourinho walked through the doors he put pen-to-paper on a new deal.
A lot of Spurs fans felt that Mourinho did play a part in him staying at the club, but they didn’t believe Alderweireld, who suggested that Pochettino leaving didn’t contribute to him staying.
“I want to say full respect for Pochettino,” said Alderweireld, as quoted by The Daily Mail “He brought me here. He made me a lot better. I’m forever grateful for what he did for the club and for me.
“It was not because of another manager that I signed. It was all the circumstances together. People think it’s only on the pitch or the new manager.”
Spurs fans will never know whether Alderweireld would have stayed had Pochettino still been at the club, bu there does seem to be a change in mood from the Belgian.
Whilst there is a change in mood, there isn’t a change in form for the centre-back, who is yet to produce his best form for Mourinho.
There’s no doubt that if Mourinho wants to form a strong defence at Spurs he needs his key man at the back getting back to his best.
Whether that means making some changes in and around him or just being patient with the player and his backline again. Either way, if Alderweireld does produce his best then he can be one of the best defenders in the world once again.
Here is a selection of Spurs fans reacting to Alderweireld comments:
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