Liverpool urged to sign £25m-rated Premier League rival to partner Van Dijk
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp should sign Toby Alderweireld from Premier League rivals Tottenham according to former Reds legend Steve Nicol.
The Belgian defender appears likely to leave Spurs this summer and there will be many clubs looking to sign the player.
Can Liverpool sign Toby Alderweireld from Spurs? Five key things to know…
- Tottenham took up the option in the defender’s contract to keep him at the club until summer 2020.
- In taking the option they triggered a clause allowing him to leave for £25m
- Alderweireld was previously linked with a move Manchester United
- Real Madrid are also thought to be in the mix to sign the centre-back
- Steve Nicol thinks he would be the perfect partner for Virgil van Dijk at Liverpool
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Tottenham appear resigned to losing the defender in the summer. The London club took up an option in the player’s contract in January that would see him stay with Spurs until the summer of 2020 but that option had a downside. It automatically triggered a minimum fee release clause of £25 million.
At that price, a defender of Alderweireld’s experience and quality would be highly sought after but former Liverpool defender Steve Nicol believes that Liverpool should position themselves at the front of the queue to sign the defender.
He has told ESPN FC of Alderweireld: “One hundred per cent this guy’s going. We just don’t know where it is.
“Again, this is a player who I think most teams in the world would want as their centre-back.
“I wouldn’t mind him at Liverpool alongside Van Dijk, I think that would be a great pairing.
“So yes, he’s going to leave. Where does he go? I guess it’s up to him.
“If he wants to move for money, he will go for the highest bidder regardless.
“But if he wants trophies, and you’ve got someone like [Raphael] Varane wanting to leave Real Madrid, I wouldn’t be shocked if that was where he turns up.
“Yeah [he will have a lot of teams to pick from], no question.”
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How would Alderweireld fit into the Liverpool line-up?
Jurgen Klopp has previously admitted that he doesn’t expect to spend big again in the next window but £25 million in the modern market is not a huge amount for an international class defender.
If Toby Alderweireld was to move to Anfield he wouldn’t necessarily get straight into the line-up though many fans would probably want to see him replace Dejan Lovren.
With Joe Gomez back in training and clearly one of the brightest, young prospects in the Premier League, it might be that the German sticks with what he has got using Joel Matip as cover.
Whatever happens, the Toby Alderweireld transfer saga is likely to gain momentum as the summer approached and Liverpool’s name will almost certainly be amongst the many clubs being linked with the defender.
