"I think we can see that I would be devastated!" Steady !!! There could be a future Mod by-election on their board, and your Banter Party may wish to stand there.
For what it's worth, Sky Bet have suspended betting on Alderweireld's destination with Spurs leading the race
I like looking to the betting sites for what’s going on. If it’s all guesswork and liar’s poker, why not look to the betting line for truth. I’d go for Carrasco, I think, for the 18 million he’s supposedly available for, instead of his compatriot Alderweireld. He’s 21, a tricky dribbler who can stretch the field on the right (though he seems to be on the left more often), with 10 assists and 7 goals in Ligue 1. Alderweireld was a CB on a good defensive team last year. The problem is that he was also CB on a team that gave up 46 goals the year before, which Pochettino coached.
I don't think Pochettino has ever coached Alderweireld rwaeb, if that's what you meant by that comment. Signing the Belgian though would be a good step towards a more watertight defence IMO, although we also need the right players in midfield to complement them. If we are going to sell Fazio, Kaboul and Chiriches then you'd think we'd make somewhere between 5 - 10 million from them, so I wouldn't even be too fussed about paying a moderately big fee for Alderweireld, if he's the right man. Crucial for any successful defensive unit though is how the midfielders in front of them work, whereas there were many problems in that department for us at Spurs last season, partly due to lack of consistency and stability in selection but also sometimes sheer lack of quality. We're clearly working on overhauling the defence but we are going to have to look at DMs too, as well as adding the depth we need in the attacking positions.
Di Marzo reported that we bid £11m, which is £1m more than what Southampton bid please log in to view this image
This just turned up on the Sky Transfer feed. ALDERWEIRELD TWIST Now to another twist in the future of Toby Alderweireld, who has been linked with a move to Tottenham. It's our understanding that Southampton believe they have a contract with Atletico Madrid for the defender and expect a permanent transfer to take place, after he spent last season on loan at St Mary's. Sky Sources have told us that if the Spanish club do a deal with Tottenham or anyone else, then Southampton will consider legal action against Atletico. ------------------------------- This is like a soap opera now! Where's the Eastenders drum music?
Hmm, three basic mistakes in the last handful of comments. Doing well. I’m still not convinced Alderweireld is better than Dier. He also seems like one CB too many. I also think the problem was not with our defenders, but with the lack of help everyone else got them.
are Southampton going to hold him prisoner? I thought the player had a choice in where he goes and if he wants to go to Spurs then I don't see that there's much Southampton can do
We don't know who he wants to join yet tho do we? He could want to join both and it just comes down to wages. He could prefer playing for Saints under Koeman again or he could prefer to play with his Belgium team mates. The same papers were saying he was close to joining Spurs, yet that isn't the case it seems. The only thing that seems to have gone on is Atletico Madrid have ****ed up. Whether he join Saints or Spurs, this seems to have been handled badly by AM.
Alderweiried is a far more advanced footballer than Dier. At £11.4m with 40 International caps at his age and after a great season last year, he would be an outstanding signing for us. If it goes through, this would be the first signing for yonks which would actually turn me on.
Looks like now would be a good time to sign a Croatian starlet or two: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-33396095
Pathetic! If the guy doesn't want to sign for you, what are you going to do? Kidnap him??... P.s. I live in Spain. I can assure you threatening the Spanish will get you exactly, nowhere!! Absolutely the worst thing you can do!...
From sheer guesswork, I would say that Alderweireld probably doesn't much mind if he joins Spurs or goes back to Saints. At Spurs we clearly have great potential to go places in the coming years, we play a style of football that is probably reasonably familiar to him, he knows plenty of the players already, and we can pay him a good wage. Saints are also a good prospect for performing well next season, and of course he knows the setup there well and seems to like it. Plus we can both offer EL football. What I'm getting at is that he is unlikely to try and force through a move to us if the transfer gets complicated, which means that we at Spurs have to hope that everything is ok regarding the bidding process, and that this one won't get drawn out and end up with us missing out on a player who would probably improve us greatly. If Athletico have dropped a clanger here then its hugely frustrating for us and them, but Southampton clearly benefit hugely.
As usual at The Aints, half the team is likely to be sold around him. Clyne has already gone, Schneidelin will certainly follow. I can see why he might not fancy another season there. But, as you say, nothing is done until it's signed and sealed.
