OPINION
How Tottenham fans have craved a change of heart from Toby Alderweireld following speculation all year that he would quit the club this summer.
That is still a chance of a late exit as he has yet to sign a new contract and the European transfer window remains open until 31 August.
But the possibility that the centre-back has been welcomed back into Mauricio Pochettino’s circle of trust has taken a decisive turn with the events of the last 48 hours.
Alderweireld was named in the matchday squad for Spurs’ opening-day 2-1 win at Newcastle United – unlike other linked-away senior men Danny Rose and Vincent Janssen – and then Pochettino revealed he had told the players during talks on Friday they had all been handed clean slates.
“I told them yesterday for me it’s like we start from zero. They need to trust,” Pochettino told Football London.
“All the players who want to stay in Tottenham they need to show their commitment. Their commitment until the end is not one week, two weeks, one month.
“If they choose to stay in Tottenham the rules are so clear. The manager decides who plays, names or no names, who deserves is going to be on the pitch.”
The message from the Argentine is clear: the past is the past and the team will be selected on merit.
Most Spurs fans would have Alderweireld in the starting XI, whether in a 4-2-3-1 formation like that used at Newcastle, or in a three-man defence.
Indeed, whenever Davinson Sanchez makes a mistake – as he did at St James’ Park when losing Joselu for the equaliser – the calls for the brilliant Belgian to be restored to the side reach fever pitch.
He remains immensely popular among a fanbase who recall the excellence of his performances in his first two-and-a-half years at the club, a level of which few defenders have reached for Tottenham in their entire history.
Can he be recalled to the first-choice side? That has taken a massive step closer following the events of the weekend.