Why Toby Alderweireld Is the 1 Tottenham Player Man City Would Love to Sign

Manchester City face Tottenham on Saturday as they look to get back to winning ways in the Premier League. Their last league match saw them lose to West Ham at home, bringing an end to their run of 11 straight top-flight victories.

City's record at White Hart Lane in recent seasons makes for impressive reading. They’ve won three of their last four visits there, and Sergio Aguero has scored 10 goals in his seven games against Tottenham.

This is a Tottenham team with fewer star names than in the recent past. The admiring glances from top Premier League clubs once aimed in their direction have quelled somewhat. Their policy in recent seasons has been to replace high-earning, established stars with promising young players. They still have plenty of quality, just perhaps not as much as in years gone by.

When City beat Tottenham 3-2 at the Etihad in 2012 thanks to a last-gasp goal from Mario Balotelli, the Spurs side boasted Rafael van der Vaart, Gareth Bale and Luka Modric. On Saturday, Harry Kane, Hugo Lloris and Heung-Min Son will be their star attractions.

Van der Vaart, at 29, was perhaps too old when he left Spurs in 2012 to be considered a top target for City, but Bale and Modric, both now Real Madrid players, would certainly have added some brilliance to City’s squad.

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Modric, in particular, is just what City have missed in recent seasons: a deep-lying playmaker whose wonderful passing ability kick-starts moves. Players of that ilk are few and far between, and Modric is arguably the finest exponent of the art still playing today.

But if City had to buy one of the current Spurs squad, who would it be?

The quality of the squad Manuel Pellegrini has assembled is so high that finding players to improve his options is difficult.

Lloris is arguably Tottenham's star player, a consistently brilliant goalkeeper whose ability to distribute the ball is hugely underrated. Joe Hart has had his problems in the past, no more so than in 2013, when Pellegrini dropped him for six weeks after a series of costly blunders, but given his upswing in form and his homegrown status, he is rightly considered unsellable.

The most obvious answer would be Kane, a player who scored 21 goals in all competitions last season and is now an England regular. Doubts remain over the longevity of his good form, but he has a varied game. The range of goals he scored last season was remarkable, and much of his work is done outside the box, where his touch and vision has been impressive.

He would likely cost City a small fortune, though, making his transfer a risky one. Tottenham are desperate to hold on to their star man, and given Spurs chairman Daniel Levy’s notoriously tough negotiating skills, it would take an astronomical amount to prize him away.

Son, 23, a forward signed from Bayer Leverkusen for a deal reportedly worth £22 million, according to BBC Sport, looks excellent. He’s only played four times for the club so far, but his pace, work rate and technical ability have really caught the eye.

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But, again, given City’s options in attacking areas, Son isn’t needed. Raheem Sterling has brought width and pace to the left side and has given City a new look going forward, and Kevin De Bruyne, City’s record signing, has added further guile and penetrative passing. City have everything they need in the final third of the pitch. 

Nabil Bentaleb is a promising young defensive midfielder who would add depth to City’s options, but it's unlikely he would ever challenge aggressively enough for a regular first-team place. A move to City would stifle his development; he’d be better served staying at Spurs and continuing his improvement.

It’s at left-back where City are perhaps at their weakest. Aleksandar Kolarov continues to underwhelm defensively, despite a strong start to the season in an attacking sense. And Gael Clichy, injured so far this term, has always had periods where he’s excelled, followed by a collapse in form. Both of City's left-back options have shown inconsistency. 

Neither player has nailed down the starting spot in Pellegrini’s side. Most observers feel City need a world-class left-back. It’s probable that this summer they will enter the market for new options.

Tottenham’s Danny Rose is, therefore, a candidate for the Spurs player City would most like to take, but he has yet to show enough evidence that he can perform regularly at the level City need. His homegrown status would appeal, and at 25 he could yet improve significantly, but it’s unlikely City would view him as an improvement on what they have already.

So it is arguably just at centre-back that Tottenham could offer City a player who would interest them. With Martin Demchelis’ contract set to expire in the summer, the chances of another renewal are surely slim, given he is now 34.

Toby Alderweireld would certainly be an interesting option for City. The former Ajax man impressed on loan at Southampton last season and appears to have contributed to Spurs' mean defence in recent matches. He has a lot to offer. 

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His versatility, too, would appeal to City. Alderweireld can operate in a number of positions—at centre-back, right-back and, if needed, in midfield. With City looking to compete regularly for four trophies, that kind of adaptability is vital. 

Demichelis has been one of City's best players in the last 18 months. He reads the game superbly and is excellent in possession. He represents City's best pound-for-pound signing in their recent history. 

Alderweireld, a Belgian international (and teammate of Vincent Kompany and De Bruyne), enjoyed huge success at Ajax, winning three consecutive Eredivisie titles, before moving to Atletico, where he was part of their title-winning side that also made it to the Champions League final. He failed to secure a regular spot, though, and subsequently found himself on loan at St Mary's. 

He isn't a world-class option, but given what Spurs have and what City need, he is perhaps the most obvious player the Blues would target. 

Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and will be following the club from a Manchester base throughout the 2015/16 season. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @RobPollard.