Toby Alderweireld can't imagine playing without Tottenham and Belgium team-mate Jan Vertonghen

Dynamic duo: Vertonghen and Alderweireld have been mainstays of the Tottenham side
Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images
James Benge6 October 2017

Tottenham centre-back Toby Alderweireld can’t imagine playing without club and country team-mate Jan Vertonghen.

Mauricio Pochettino’s defensive duo, perhaps the most reliable in England since Alderweireld joined Spurs in 2015, has played together at Ajax, Tottenham and with the Belgian national team.

Vertonghen will break Jan Ceulemans’ Red Devils appearance record when he wins his 97th cap, which could come as soon Tuesday’s home World Cup qualifier against Cyprus.

And Alderweireld hopes that he and Vertonghen remain partners for many years to come.

“I think it’s great for Jan that he can break that record, and he will stay an international for a while yet,” Alderweireld told Het Belang Van Limburg.

“Over the years we have grown into one another and really become close.

“I can hardly play without him. If I ever go to another club, he will have to go with me.”

Alderweireld was also challenged to compare the forwards he plays alongside for club and country. Both Harry Kane and Romelu Lukaku have enjoyed exceptional starts to the new season and the centre-back found it too difficult to pick the superior striker.

“I'll put them on the same level,” he said.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in