Is this Tottenham star the Premier League’s best centre back?

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Given the increasing demand for attractive, attacking football, the role of the defender has evolved massively. We now see less of the old-fashioned bullish defenders who only think to clear to safety, and more of the elegant, ball playing defenders who can build attacks from deep. As shown by the lack of high quality defenders in the Premier League, a balance between the two is very hard to achieve, but if struck, your team will have a solid foundation to build from and the solidity required to win games. Despite the difficulties just mentioned, White Hart Lane is home to one of the few centre halves in the Premier League that possesses all the skills to be mentioned in the elite bracket that strike just the right balance, and that man is Toby Alderweireld.

After a long transfer battle between Tottenham and Southampton to claim Alderweireld’s signature, it quickly became clear why Levy was willing to fight with Southampton over him. Alderweireld has been pivotal in the transformation from the leagues 5^th worst defence over the 2014-15 season, to the leagues best defence 26 games into the 2015-16 season. Toby hasn’t missed a minute of premier league football since his acquisition, first striking an unbelievably solid partnership with fellow Belgian Jan Vertonghen, then in recent weeks carrying on this understanding with fellow summer signing Kevin Wimmer. On a personal level, Alderweireld has averaged over 7 clearances a game, and around 1 tackle and 1 interception per game as well. Although these figures aren’t outstanding on their own, when coupled with a fouls figure of 0.3 a game and just 2 yellow cards all season, these stats show how good at timing tackles he really is, and how good a read of the game he is too. Alderweireld tends to act as the sweeper in the centre back partnership due to his amazing ability to read the game.

Most importantly, as a defensive unit, Tottenham have kept 9 clean sheets in the league, and have only conceded 20 goals in their 26 games this season. Prior to this season, Tottenham were known for their defensive collapses with some horrific defensive displays, however, Toby Alderweireld has gone some way to removing this tag with a string of impressive displays. The addition of Alderweireld in to the defence has also seen the best brought out of the players around him, with Vertonghen improving twofold this season, and all four fullbacks seemingly playing with freedom and feeling reassured knowing they have a centre half of Toby’s quality alongside them. For the team, this means the full backs can push up high and be involved in the attacking phases of play more often, without compromising their defensive organisation. As a defender, and a leader, Toby Alderweireld has been pivotal to the remarkable turnaround in Tottenham’s defence.

Not only does Alderweireld boast impressive defensive statistics, he also contributes to Tottenham’s possession based style, a style that has seen them gain many plaudits so far in their title chase this season. Alderweireld has been recognised for his range of passing for a centre half, showing time and time again his love for a cross field diagonal pass. His ability to switch the play quickly adds to Tottenham’s attacking play, giving them the option to shift the ball from flank to flank quickly. Not only can he do this, the two raking long assists he laid on to Alli in games against Everton and West Brom show he can directly contribute to the team in an attacking sense with his qualities on the ball. If you were to take out Toby from this Tottenham team, a dimension would be lost, with his passing range and his composure on the ball in defensive areas of the pitch being sorely missed

As discussed, Toby Alderweireld has all the components of a modern day centre half. He is composed on the ball, and has a good passing range, looking like he could easily slot in higher up the pitch with ease. He also has all the components of an old fashioned defender, relishing a physical duel, and being strong in the tackle with an outstanding capacity to read the game. The balance he strikes between the two with consummate ease will not only make playing against him as a striker a daunting prospect, but will also leave defenders knowing they need to be on their toes when they see him with the ball in deep areas. Seeing as Kompany continues to struggle with injuries, Koscielny still prone to the odd costly mistake, and Terry’s age appearing to be catching up with him, it is harder to find a better centre back in the Premier League at this moment in time than Toby Alderweireld.

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