(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)New Tottenham Hotspur signing Toby Alderweireld has been impressed by the recruitment of Saturday's opponents Stoke City but remains confident Spurs have too much quality for Mark Hughes' men.
The Potters have significantly strengthened their squad this season with Swiss international Xherdan Shaqiri becoming the 10th addition this week following their opening day 1-0 home defeat by Liverpool. The diminutive playmaker dubbed the 'Alpine Messi' follows former Real Madrid striker Joselu and ex Barcelona pair Ibrahim Afellay and Moha in joining Stoke who are looking to push on for European qualification having finished ninth in the last two seasons. "Stoke have made some big signings and they're a very good team so we'll have to be at our best to beat them but we're confident in ourselves and our ability to make a difference on the pitch" the 26-year-old Alderweireld told the club website (www.tottenhamhotspur.com). "Especially at home we know we are capable of winning games in the Premier League so we'll make sure we do everything we can to take three points on Saturday." Belgian international Alderweireld joined Spurs from Atletico Madrid after spending last season on loan at Southampton where he put on an outstanding display in the 1-0 home win over Stoke marking Peter Crouch out of the game. He said Tottenham who finished fifth last term could take positives from the opening 1-0 loss to Manchester United. "Last week at Manchester United we defended well and made sure United only had one shot on goal" he said. "That's very impressive especially at Old Trafford so we can be happy about that but we have to be confident for the Stoke game now and look to keep a clean sheet. "Hopefully we'll find the back of the net as well. When we get our chances we have to take them." Meanwhile Mauricio Pochettino admits he still has work to do as the Tottenham manager reshapes his squad ahead of Stoke's visit to White Hart Lane on Saturday. Pochettino's side slumped to an underwhelming 1-0 defeat at Manchester United last weekend and the Argentine remains keen to add to his options before the end of the transfer window. The former Southampton boss has overseen the departure of seven senior players during the close season with strikers Roberto Soldado and Emmanuel Adebayor also likely to leave shortly.
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