On the latest episode of the Last Word On Spurs podcast, Ricky Sacks, Lee McQueen, Chris Cowlin and Richard Cracknell provided immediate reaction to the Lilywhites’ 2-1 win against Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday night.
One topic of conversation on the recent episode, which was titled ‘Bale Wins It‘, was Spurs centre-back Toby Alderweireld.
Although the Belgian international picked up a slightly poor 6.31 rating for his performance in the win against Graham Potter’s side, those on the podcast were extremely complimentary of his passing in the win, which is less surprising when you consider he registered a pass accuracy of 79.2%, which was the fourth-best of any Tottenham Hotspur player who started the game (per WhoScored).
The 31-year-old also played an important part in Spurs’ winning goal, as it was his long pass that found Sergio Reguilon, whose cross was headed in by Gareth Bale.
Here’s what Cowlin had to say about the former Atletico Madrid man during the podcast:
“I’ve always said that I think he’s our best central defender at the club right now, it’s just who you’re going to play him with. It always looks like whenever Eric Dier is fit, then he’s always going to be playing next to him.
“[I’ve] always been impressed with Toby Alderweireld, he plays some wonderful diagonal balls – he played some wonderful balls out like you’d think he was a midfielder. I’m very, very impressed with him in that way.”
TIF Thoughts on Cowlin’s praise for Alderweireld and his passing range…
Cowlin was clearly impressed with Alderweireld’s passing in the game against Brighton and went as far as to suggest that he thinks the Belgian is the best centre-back at the club.
Is Alderweireld the best centre-back at Spurs?
Yes
No
Considering the 31-year-old, who is valued at £18 million (as per Transfermarkt), has averaged the highest rating of any of Spurs’ centre-back options in the Premier League so far this season, with a 6.74/10 average to his name (per WhoScored), you could certainly argue that Cowlin has a point here.
It will be interesting to see if Mourinho continues to stick with Aldereweireld and Dier as his two main centre-back options for the foreseeable future.