Who Is Davinson Sanchez, Tottenham's First Signing?
Through most of the summer transfer window of 2017, Tottenham Hotspur has resisted the urge to spend its share of the Premier League’s vast television contract.
Mauricio Pochettino’s team hasn’t signed a player yet and even worse—for those who cling to their team’s activity in the transfer market with a fervor bordering on the religious—it has lost one in Kyle Walker: the right back went to Manchester City for £50 million ($64.4 million).
Tottenham, which finished runner-up in the 2016-17 Premier League and has been the league’s most consistent side over the past two seasons, may be more circumspect than its rivals but it is not a totally different beast and knows it must speculate even to stand still, let alone move forward.
Pochettino has waited until two weeks before the summer transfer window closes to move for a player. Davinson Sanchez, the 21-year-old Ajax defender, is set to arrive in a deal that could eventually rise to £42 million, according to The Guardian.
Sanchez caught Tottenham's eye during Ajax’s run to the Europa League final last season as a skilful, muscular presence in central defense. He was one of a select few players to emerge in credit from the chastening Europa League Final defeat to Manchester United in Stockholm in May. That night Jose Mourinho brilliantly nullified Ajax’s talented young team, but Sanchez remained defiant. Such qualities, mental as much as physical, do not come cheap.
Despite Sanchez’s undoubted talent and potential, in a way this appears a curious signing. A club-record transfer would expect, normally, to slot straight into the first team but Spurs already have two of the Premier League’s best center backs, and perhaps its best central defensive partnership, in Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld.
As it stands, Tottenham has paid £42 million for a backup but Vertonghen, in particular, has struggled with injuries so Sanchez should get his chance soon enough.
There wasn’t much to fix in Tottenham’s team, so instead Pochettino has chosen to patch over future problems before they appear. If Sanchez plays up to and beyond expectations, that could prove a prudent strategy.
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