Davinson Sanchez can be one of the best in the world, says Spurs boss

When Tottenham secured a place in the Champions League group stage before the end of last season, it seemed they had also possibly gained an advantage in the transfer market, potentially grabbing a chance to strike first and promise top-level European football to prospective signings before any of their rivals.

That suggestion was quickly shot down by Mauricio Pochettino, however, with the Spurs manager saying in May: “We’re talking about ‘if Tottenham are in the Champions League, it will be more attractive’, but then it’s all about if you pay or not. We cannot lie to you, that’s the reality.”

In the end, Tottenham were the very last Premier League club to make a signing.

Pochettino announced last month that Tottenham had “a plan”, and it seems the Lilywhites have been playing a waiting game, allowing their richer foes to make their moves before showing their own hand, thereby avoiding bidding wars they cannot win.

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With that in mind, there have probably been some nervy weeks at Tottenham HQ, with Pochettino and co waiting to see whether their wealthier opponents would spot the prodigious talent of Ajax’s Davinson Sanchez, and attempt to sign him.

Asked if that was the case, Spurs’ manager smiled and said: “Maybe you can be right or not, but yes I respect what you say…”

Spurs still faced competition from abroad – Barcelona and Inter Milan were reportedly interested – but the Lilywhites broke their transfer record by paying £38.4million for the centre-back.

Pochettino certainly believes they have landed a rare talent – a 21-year-old whose experience belies his tender years, who fits his system perfectly, and who has the potential to be one of the best defenders on the planet.

“All the characteristics he has are for success here,” said Spurs’ manager. “He’s young but he won the Copa Libertadores with his team in Colombia and he played regularly at Ajax – he played in the Europa League final against Manchester United.

“He’s young but with amazing history and background. I like his personality and how he is – aggressive, fast. I think he will fit for us very well.

“He loves to play with risk at his back [with space in behind]. When there was the possibility to sign him, there were a lot of advantages, and because he wanted to move and to play for Tottenham. Today Davinson is with us because a lot of clubs were interested in him but he decided to join us.

“It’s a massive opportunity because we believe he will be one of the best centre-backs in the world in the future.

“From the beginning when he arrived at Ajax, he showed his quality, started to show his character and personality. That’s what caught our attention.

“I think he was the best player at Ajax in his first season. That showed he is a player with big character and personality, and with a lot of potential.”

Pochettino, who himself has experience of moving from South America to Europe in his early 20s, has tested Sanchez personally in training.

“I challenged him yesterday,” he said. “We were playing in the box, he was inside and the ball was in the air. I came in, bam, and he fell, and I had the ball!”

Sanchez is now the third ex-Ajax centre-back in Tottenham’s defence and he could soon be lining up alongside the other two – Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen – in a three-man rearguard.

The fear for some supporters will be that the Colombia international has in fact been brought in because Spurs are concerned they will lose Alderweireld, who is yet to sign a new deal.

However, Pochettino has sought to allay any worries on that front – and he has also hinted that, after a raft of contract renewals last year, another round of pay rises could be on the horizon.

“Today, I was talking for one hour with Toby. He is so happy here,” said Spurs’ manager. “The club now is so busy trying to add more quality to the team. Davinson is more competition for our centre-backs, but it can only be good.

“No doubt, when the transfer window finishes, Daniel [Levy, the chairman] will start to work on trying to make happy every single player of the club.”

Alderweireld may not be packing his bags any time soon, but Sanchez’s arrival has had a knock-on effect for 19-year-old Cameron Carter-Vickers, who joined Sheffield United on loan on Friday.

He has become the second highly-regarded youngster to leave on loan, following Josh Onomah’s move to Aston Villa – a slightly surprising development since Pochettino has previously been keen to keep the top academy players under his own supervision, and among Spurs’ international stars. So has there been a change of policy?

“No, not a change,” said Pochettino. “I think after two years – nearly two and a half – of working with Josh and Cameron, if they cannot reach the starting 11 regularly in the team, the opportunity now is for them to move and try to play.

“Cameron last season really didn’t play too much. The risk is when you don’t compete and you’re young, it’s massive to lose that.

“The most important thing is to provide the possibility to try to play regularly in the starting 11. If after two seasons you cannot achieve that, it’s a moment maybe to give them the possibility of playing in another club – like it was with Kyle Walker, Danny Rose or Harry Kane.

“It’s a different thing to send a player out on loan before giving them enough time to try to achieve the level that we want or expect from that.

“If they don’t achieve it, now is the moment to give them the possibility to move and play, to improve and learn and then maybe come back and be ready to play regularly in the first team.

“The good example [of our approach] is Harry Winks. He broke into the first team and started to play regularly. That’s why now we consider him like a first-team player.

“But if he wasn’t playing today, after two years involved in the first team, it would be a moment for him to move and try to develop and find the possibility to play more – to learn, improve and then have the possibility to get into the first team.”

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