'Last appearance in a Spurs shirt' – BBC pundit delivers Tottenham message that fans will hate
Toby Alderweireld made his return to the Premier League for the first time since October in the Premier League game against Brighton on Tuesday night.
However, talking on BBC Radio 5, Efan Ekoku, has said that it could be "the last time we see Alderweireld in a Spurs shirt".
He said that Alderwiereld's appearance was a "surprise" and said it could be a case of Mauricio Pochettino putting him in the shop window.
Ekoku was talking on BBC Radio 5's coverage of the game and his words were posted on the official Radio 5 Twitter page.
Ekoku went on to say: "Toby Alderweireld's selection certainly is a surprise. I think they might be looking to put him in the shop window.
"There looks like there's been a standoff with contractual discussions even though they haven’t been confirmed. This may be his last appearance in a Spurs shirt."
Football Insider verdict:
Ekoku is right, as much as Spurs fans don't want to believe it, this could well be Alderweireld's last appearance for Tottenham. Pochettino said he was going to rotate, and he did, making six changes and bringing the popular enforcer back. However, this wasn't a triumphant return to the side, more a convenient time for Pochettino to use him and rest his first-team stars for the FA Cup semi-final against Man United at the weekend. But for that, Alderweireld would not be in the first-team reckoning for Tottenham and it's looking less and less likely that he will sign a new contract. That will mean he'll be off in the summer and this could well be a shop window game for him.
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