Toby Alderweireld
Every reasonable Tottenham fan knows that Alderweireld is Spurs’ best central defender. What we all didn’t understand, is just how much the club would suffer in his absence.
It’s almost impossible to fully describe what Tottenham lose without the talented Belgian on the bench. His absence is a blow to the club on both the offensive and defensive end of the pitch.
On defense, it’s fairly obvious how his absence costs the club. He’s a very steady central defender who can keep even the most talented attacker under wraps. You just can’t replace a world-class defender when they miss significant time.
His injury also has dealt a significant blow to the club’s offensive efforts. His calm distribution from the back is one thing, but his long diagonals to unlock the club’s wide players is the real loss. It’s a thing of beauty that’s been kept away from Tottenham fans too long.
The easy answer as to how to fix Alderweireld is to get his nerve injury fixed. Hopefully that injury saga will be finished by next weekend. His return could cure a lot of the ills currently plaguing Pochettino’s squad.