Being a part of the best defence in the league you’ve played for five of the past seven years is a statistic most defenders can only dream of, but for Tottenham’s Toby Alderweireld, that’s a reality.
Not only that, but the two seasons where he didn’t finish in the top defence, he was in the second-best one.
Now rated as one of the best in his position in the Premier League, the Belgian defender has formed a great partnership with his compatriot Jan Vertonghen at White Hart Lane, but it could have been very different.
Transferring from Atlético Madrid following a year-long loan at Southampton, the Tottenham defender revealed in an interview with Humo in Belgium that, at the time, he saw was unsure whether a move to St Mary’s was the right thing to do in his career.
He said: “After [the 2013-14] season, I had a choice to make: stay with Atlético, quietly pocket my wage and wait for my chance, or take the more difficult alternative and opt for Southampton and the Premier League.
“Going to Southampton was a risk. What if I failed? Where could I go then? It would have been safe to wait quietly behind Miranda and Diego Godín. It wouldn’t even have been embarrassing.”
As they say, if you don’t buy a ticket…
Alderweireld has made 20 appearances for Tottenham in all competitions this year, scoring one goal, in 2-1 Champions League loss to Monaco.
