Team of the Season – Toby Alderweireld

After impressing during a season-long loan spell at Southampton in 2014/15, Toby Alderweireld opted against making his move to St Mary’s permanent and instead joined Tottenham from parent club Atletico Madrid for a fee believed to be £11.4 million. The former Ajax defender linked up with Belgian compatriots Jan Vertonghen, Mousa Dembele and Nacer Chadli at White Hart Lane, and enjoyed a stellar season, culminating in his inclusion in the PFA Team of the Year.

THE STATISTICS

Priced at a mere 5.0 at the start of the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) season, Alderweireld wasted little time in establishing himself as one of the leading options for our five-man backlines. Tottenham registered three consecutive clean sheets between Gameweeks 4 and 6, while the Belgian served notice of his attacking potential by notching a goal and assist in his next four appearances. Shut-outs were then fairly sporadic for Mauricio Pochettino’s men, garnering just five between Gameweeks 11 and 29, before tightening up again as Spurs looked to challenge for the Premier League title, picking up four clean sheets in their next five matches before their late capitulation.

It was Alderweireld’s attacking prowess that stood him apart from many of the other defenders this season – he totalled four goals and three assists, with only Scott Dann and Patrick van Aanholt finding the net more often. That potential to deliver points at either end of the pitch understandably proved hugely popular with Fantasy managers as the Belgian’s price peaked at 6.5 in Gameweek 31.

Along with Leicester’s Wes Morgan, Alderweireld was one of only two defenders to play every minute this season and picked up just three yellows in 38 appearances. Despite averaging slightly less than Danny Rose per appearance (4.4 points to 4.5), that security of starts, due to Mauricio Pochettino’s penchant for occasionally rotating at full-back, strengthened his popularity across the Fantasy games.

After heading into the final weekend of the season as the top-scoring FPL defender, Spurs’ 5-1 loss at Newcastle, allied with Arsenal’s clean sheet at home to Villa, saw Alderweireld drop into second spot behind the Gunners’ Hector Bellerin by a tally of 166 points to 171.

THE PROSPECTS

Having significantly exceeded expectations this term, Alderweireld is in line for a hefty price hike, perhaps setting us back 6.0 or even 6.5 in FPL, thus moving him into the premium bracket.

With Rose and Kyle Walker likely to occasionally alternate with Ben Davies and Kieran Trippier, and Eric Dier set to be reclassified as a midfielder, the form of Jan Vertonghen could be key as to how we view the Tottenham defence in 2015/16.

The latter will surely come in cheaper than Alderweireld and, when fit, seems as likely a starter as his fellow centre-half. Providing he can rediscover the sort of form that served up five goals and three assists in his first season at the Lane, he could yet emerge as a target for the many that will understandably baulk at Alderweireld’s expected valuation. Given that Vertonghen failed to produce any attacking returns in 2015/16, firing an effort every 247.8 minutes to Alderweireld’s 89.9, that remains highly debatable.

Aside from Sunday’s 5-1 disaster at St James’, Tottenham were a much-improved defensive unit this season. They currently boast the second-most resilient defence, with 35 goals against, and kept 13 clean sheets, compared to just nine shut-outs during Pochettino’s first year in charge. With the Argentine signing a new contract in the last few weeks, we can expect the same sort of resilience again, with Spurs’ pressing game sure to earn them further defensive returns.

If he’s shifted as high as 6.5, Alderweireld may well struggle to find a place in our starting squads for 2016/17, unless we have the same sort of season where value in midfield comes quickly to the fore, thus allowing us scope to splash the cash elsewhere.

The underlying numbers indicate that the Belgian could yet justify any extra outlay for those keen on big-hitters at the back, though. He sits second for both shots and efforts in the box amongst defenders and has produced more attempts on target (13) than any other backline option. The fixture proof appeal that saw him score against four of the top seven – both Manchester clubs, West Ham and Arsenal – merely underlines Alderweireld’s Fantasy capabilities.