Tottenham Hotspur defender Toby Alderweireld has revealed that he was once compared to former Manchester United defender Jaap Stam by Ajax manager Frank de Boer.
The Belgium international has been in fine form at both ends of the pitch since joining Spurs from Atletico Madrid last summer.
Besides helping Tottenham to have the best defensive record in the Premier League this season, Alderweireld has also scored four goals and provided two assists in 36 league games, while in total he has turned out 47 times in all competitions for the north London outfit.
And Alderweireld explained that whilst at Ajax, De Boer called him the new Stam, but the 27-year-old insists he is different to the ex-Netherlands international.
"At Ajax, Frank de Boer described me at one point as the new Jaap Stam”, he was quoted as saying by Belgian daily Het Laatste Nieuws.
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“A nice compliment, but you can’t compare two players – everyone is different.
“I’m a different kind of defender than Stam. When he ended his career at Ajax, I got my chance.”
Alderweireld progressed through Ajax’s youth system before making his first team debut for the club in January 2009.
He was then snapped up by Atletico Madrid in 2013, but after failing to make his mark in Spain, he joined Southampton on a season-long loan deal for the 2014/15 campaign.
