Tottenham favourite Toby Alderweireld can see himself moving into a director role after retirement, with Royal Antwerp potentially providing that opportunity.
The former Spurs defender retired from playing last year and is already a minor shareholder the Belgian club. Now he has admitted the sporting side of things is something he could eventually fancy as well.
Speaking on Belgium’s Het Laatste Nieuws Voetbalpodcast, Alderweireld discussed Marc Overmars’ departure from Antwerp. The Dutchman left his position as director of football last week, creating a sizeable hole in the club’s sporting structure.
That’s also a role Tottenham are looking to fill themselves at the moment.
Alderweireld knows what Overmars brought
Antwerp CEO Sven Jaecques has argued that the club already has a structure capable of functioning without Overmars.
Alderweireld agrees with that to an extent. He believes modern recruitment goes well beyond one sporting director making every decision.
“Sven is right that there is a whole structure in place,” he said. “And that the traditional sporting director who decides everything no longer exists.”
“You have a whole scouting operation, people who work on it day and night, who have simply done fantastic work at Antwerp.”
“But you still need someone like Marc who adds something with his knowledge, his gut feeling and his name.”
He knows from experience how much difference the person making the call can make during a transfer.
“If Marc calls someone, or an unknown person calls someone, that makes a huge difference,” Alderweireld explained.
“I still remember the message I got before my transfer to Antwerp. ‘Hey Toby, time to come home. I want to be champion.’ When he sends something like that, of course your heart starts beating faster.”
It worked pretty well. Alderweireld joined Antwerp from Al-Duhail in 2022 and captained his hometown club to the league title in his first season.
Could Toby be the next man?
Former goalkeeper Frank Boeckx then suggested Antwerp may already have someone capable of sending similar messages to the next generation. He was sitting directly opposite him.
Alderweireld isn’t putting himself forward for Overmars’ old position just yet, though.
“Everything in its own time,” he replied. “I also don’t have the arrogance to say that I could simply replace Marc. Marc is definitely irreplaceable. But it is something I’d like to put my heart into one day. Let’s put it that way.”
As Tottenham supporters probably remember Alderweireld as a leader in Mauricio Pochettino’s side, that probably won’t come as a huge surprise.
He’s only 37 and has plenty of time to decide exactly what comes next. His ownership role at Antwerp already keeps him close to the running of the club.
A move towards the football side now sounds like a genuine possibility as well. Overmars’ departure has certainly given him a good look at what the job involves.
A few years learning the role at Antwerp could open up a return to Tottenham.
