Tottenham Hotspur leading Toby Alderweireld race?

Contrary to Andre Villas-Boas' words about Tottenham Hotspur not aggressively pursuing another defender in the transfer window, the team continues to be linked to numerous central defenders. One of those is Ajax and Belgium man Toby Alderweireld, who has spent a lot of time playing next to Jan Vertonghen for club and country. Spurs are apparently still interested, while Spartak Moscow have pulled out of the race, according to Belgian outlet Nieuwsblad.

Vic Alderweireld, the player's father, spoke about a potential transfer. Quotes below are from Nieuwsblad and translated by the Daily Star.

‘Beide teams onderhandelen. Als ze tot een akkoord komen, dan gaan wij ook om de tafel zitten. Na het weekend zitten we sowieso samen om de opties te overlopen. Een tiental dagen geleden hoorden we via via dat ook Tottenham iets zou ondernemen, maar dat is voorlopig windstil.'

Source: Nieuwsblad

"Both teams are negotiating. If they come to an agreement, then we go around the table. After the weekend we will sit down together anyway to scroll through his options. About ten days ago we heard through the grapevine that Tottenham would take anything, but that's just preliminary."

Translation: Daily Star

Alderweireld was once looked at as potentially having a higher ceiling than Vertonghen, but he's stopped progressing in the last year. Perhaps that's because he's reached his ceiling, but I'm willing to bet that he's been a little less focused and driven than he was in previous seasons over the last year. He has all the talent in the world, but Spurs probably shouldn't break the bank for him based on his average performances over the last year.

I'd prefer Mamadou Sakho to Alderweireld (and haven't seen enough of Vlad Chiriches to judge), but I'd be happy to have the Belgian.