Tottenham fans have enjoyed one of England’s best defences over the last half-decade, and for a lot of that, the Lilywhites have got Mauricio Pochettino to thank. However, it looks like the Argentine could have to make some wholesale changes, including ripping up one of the best partnerships of the footballing world from the last few years.
That partnership, as you will have probably guessed, is the centre-back pairing of Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen. The pair have been together since Alderweireld was signed from Atletico Madrid back in summer 2015 (BBC), and have been an unbelievable success.
Over the course of the four completed seasons since Alderweireld signed and made the Belgian duo a partnership at club level as well as international, the Lilywhites have shipped 136 Premier League goals. The only top six to have shipped less are Manchester City, who edge Spurs by having shipped six fewer goals (130).
The jump from there to the other sides is slightly larger. United have let in 146, Liverpool 152, Chelsea 163 and the other North London side Arsenal way back on 182 goals conceded in those four seasons. However, with things now looking creeky, it could be time for Poch to take his partnership apart, stats via Premierleague.com.
Despite those stats and the Lilywhites’ defensive dominance, making a change now looks like it has to happen. Both Alderweireld and Vertonghen are out of contract next summer, Transfermarkt, and with the club having shipped a massive 21 goals already this season in just 12 games, including ten against Bayern Munich and Brighton, Transfermarkt, changes look inevitable.
Waiting in the wings at Tottenham, though, are the young defenders Juan Foyth and Davinson Sanchez. The young pairing have got the ability to step in, and if they can prove to Pochettino in training that they can lay the foundations at the back and replace the ageing Belgians before them then it could be the first stage of the rebuild that Pochettino wants to make happen at Spurs.
It certainly will not be easy, though. Pochettino could be set to enforce those changes come January when his Belgian duo are free to leave the club, and given the club’s current situation it makes a lot of sense to allow them to leave and start the rebuild even earlier.