Spurs should swap Toby Alderweireld with Thomas Meunier
According to Daily Star, Tottenham Hotspur are weighing up a move for Paris Saint Germain right-back Thomas Meunier with Toby Alderweireld going the other way.
Alderweireld signed a new 12-month extension to his current contract, which includes a clause that he will be allowed to leave the club for a fee of £25million. (h/t Daily Star)
Manchester United were interested in signing the Belgian in the summer but a move fell through due to Spurs’ high asking price for the centre-back. (h/t Daily Star)
However, PSG and Spurs are believed to have a good relationship, with Serge Aurier and Lucas Moura completing moves to north London in recent times. The report also claims that Spurs might be interested to get Aurier off the books.
Meunier, who was an integral part of the Belgian team that finished third at the 2018 World Cup, is currently regarded as one of the most versatile full-backs in Europe. The 27-year-old played for Belgian giants Club Brugge before joining PSG back in 2016.
The Belgian found it hard to displace Dani Alves in his initial days at the club but he slowly proved his worth with his all-round displays. Meunier has accumulated 10 goals and 17 assists from 86 appearances across all competitions for the French champions.
Standing at 6ft. 3 inches with a lean and towering frame, Meunier is quite tall for a full-back and is known for his offensive and defensive qualities on the right-hand side of the pitch. While he is essentially a right-back by trade, Meunier has also played as a right midfielder at PSG and as a wing-back for Belgium.
While he has a good turn of pace and above-average dribbling skills, Meunier is also adept at holding on to the ball and linking up with his teammates down the right to create chances. He is also a very good crosser of the ball from the wide areas and has the ability to set up his teammates with accurate pull-backs into the box.
Meunier has learnt with his experience how to balance both sides of his game. He has a cool and composed head on his shoulders and is a good reader of the game at the back, being seldom caught out of position and timing his challenges to perfection. He has averaged 2.3 tackles,1.2 interceptions, 1 key pass, 0.8 shots and 1.7 aerial duels per game in the Ligue 1 this season.
To put things into perspective, someone like Meunier is a world-class full-back and Spurs should consider him as a replacement for Serge Aurier. With all due respect to the Ivorian’s abilities, he is not the most consistent player and has often let the team down with costly errors at the back. Moreover, he lacks quality on his deliveries into the box.
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As far as Alderweireld is concerned, Spurs should not hesitate to offload him as he has shown an inclination to head for the exit door upon the expiry of his contract. A swap deal involving the two Belgians should be looked upon as a bargain for the Lilywhites as the north Londoners would have had to break the bank to land someone of Meunier’s calibre. Furthermore, his ability to contribute equally to attack and defence will provide healthy competition for Kieran Trippier and allow Mauricio Pochettino to rotate his squad.
That said, Spurs should complete this swap deal in January to freshen up their squad.
