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Gold: Alderweireld unlikely to stay

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Toby Alderweireld is unlikely to stay at Tottenham beyond the end of this season, according to Football.London journalist Alasdair Gold.

The 30-year-old is out of contract in the summer, and has yet to reach an agreement on any potential extension to his current deal.

And Gold is of the opinion that his future lies elsewhere.

Writing in a piece for Football.London, he said: “Alderweireld has only got roughly nine months left on his contract at Spurs and with the club and the player having failed to agree on a new deal in the previous four years it’s not looking likely that the Belgian will remain a Tottenham player beyond this season.”

How much of a blow would losing Alderweireld be?

Alderweireld has been a mainstay of this Tottenham side since he signed from Atletico Madrid in 2015.

The Belgian has consistently been one of the most reliable and impressive defenders in the Premier League, and at no point has his Whoscored rating dropped beneath 6.68 in the Premier League during his spell in north London.

And it’s easy to see why.

Last season the 30-year-old averaged 4.9 clearances and 1.1 tackles, as well as being dribbled past just 0.3 times per match, as per Whoscored.

Already this season he has averaged 3.2 clearances and 1.2 tackles, and has yet to be dribbled past in five Premier League appearances.

Perhaps most telling of all is the fact that he has made just one mistake leading directly to a goal throughout the entirety of his 147 Premier League outings, as per the league themselves.

As a point of reference, defensive partner has made seven in 288 appearances, as per the Premier League.

Is he likely to leave?

Gold knows his stuff, and if he says that Alderweireld is likely to leave, the chances are that he is likely to leave.

The fact that no agreement has been reached over his future yet does not bode well for his chances of staying put, but stranger things have happened than a sudden u-turn being made.

Fans will be hoping that is the case, as replacing a player of Alderweireld’s calibre is no mean feat, and finding a quality candidate to fill the void his departure would leave wouldn’t come on the cheap.

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