It was truly the end of an era at Tottenham when the club announced the departure of Toby Alderweireld on Tuesday.
The 32-year-old made up one half of arguably the club’s strongest centre-back pairing in modern history, playing alongside compatriot and former Ajax team-mate Jan Vertonghen for the majority of his stint in north London.
Quite fittingly, Alderweireld’s departure came a year to the day after Vertonghen was let go by the club, who is now playing is football at Benfica in Portugal.
Tottenham confirmed Toby Alderweireld has joined Qatari outfit Al-Duhail on Tuesday
Alderweireld bid farewell to Spurs fans in a video, saying it was 'an honour' to play for them
The Belgian duo helped the club, along with Mauricio Pochettino, take that next step forward and become a regular fixture in the Champions League, while their push for silverware ultimately failed before the Argentine boss was sacked in November 2019.
Alderweireld was arguably the club's finest defender in the Premier League era, with Vertonghen and a fit Ledley King the only men held in higher regard by the Tottenham faithful.
But after completing a move to Qatari outfit Al-Duhail for one last huge pay-day, Alderweireld leaves Spurs a man light in defence.
Eric Dier, Joe Rodon, Japhet Tanganga and Davinson Sanchez are the club's only recognised senior centre-backs at the club, while the latter has been linked with an exit this summer.
Spurs' new director of football Fabio Paratici has a number of targets in mind this summer
Dier is not seen as a solid option at the back for Tottenham following a rocky stint under Jose Mourinho, while Rodon is still settling in at the club and remains as one for the future.
Tanganga has struggled with injuries since being promoted from the club's academy and was viewed as more of a right-back by Mourinho.
And with new Spurs boss Nuno Santo Espirito and director of football Fabio Paratici wanting to play with three at the back, Tottenham need to find Alderweireld's replacement – and quick.
But who are they targeting?
Here, Sportsmail looks at the candidates Paratici wants to bring in to replace Alderweireld at White Hart Lane.
Cristian Romero (Atalanta)Value: £50m:
Romero remains as the front-runner to replace Alderweireld, given he has agreed personal terms with Tottenham and is ready to join the club on a five-year deal.
The 23-year-old technically belongs to Juventus - but he has been playing with Atalanta for two years, who have a pre-agreement to sign him this summer for around £14m - and the club are expected to sell him on for a profit.
However, Atalanta and Spurs are still apart in their valuation of the Copa America winner, with the Premier League side unwilling to go above their £42m offer for the Argentine.
Atalanta centre back Cristian Romero remains as the front-runner to replace Alderweireld
The 23-year-old was part of the Argentina side who won the Copa America this summer
While Atalanta are ready to let Romero leave, the Serie A side are hoping to get as much as they can for the defender and reportedly want £47m for him, especially given how high his stock is at the moment.
Romero, who was brought to Juventus by Paratici, is the Italian's main target this window and remains intent on bringing him to White Hart Lane.
The defender played a key role in helping Atalanta qualify for the Champions League once again.
The centre back scored three goals and made five assists in 42 appearances last term and his impressive performances saw him crowned Serie A's 'Defender of the Season'.
Takehiro Tomiyasu (Bologna)
