Spurs’ reported pursuit of Mina may create another Alderweireld-Vertonghen partnership

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Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly keen on Barcelona’s Yerry Mina.

Tottenham Hotspur have yet to make their first summer signing, but The Sun report that they are hoping to strike a deal with Barcelona for defender Yerry Mina.

Mina, 23, only joined Barca from Palmeiras in January, but struggled to impress for the Catalan giants, and with Sevilla’s Clement Lenglet potentially heading to the Camp Nou, Mina may be on the move.

The report suggests that Barcelona would want to loan Mina out, with Goal claiming that Everton have offered £21million for the Colombian star, a permanent move may not be out of the question.

Mina is already appealing enough at 6ft 5in tall, possessing great size, strength and aerial ability, but the fact that Tottenham already have Davinson Sanchez should also make him an enticing target for Spurs.

The pair have been featuring together in the heart of the Colombia defence at this summer’s World Cup, and whilst there have been the occasional positional mistakes between the pair given their inexperience, they clearly have huge potential.

Whilst Mina is tall and aerially dominant, Sanchez’s pace and penchant for last-ditch challenges means they do complement each other well, and with more experience together they should iron out the minor errors in their game.

Tottenham would therefore be able to use the pair together in their defence somewhere down the line, and give Mauricio Pochettino the chance to potentially recreate the exceptional partnership between Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen.

Alderweireld and Vertonghen used their partnership with Ajax and Belgium to form a defensive wall at Tottenham, as their understanding of each other helped Spurs create a solid back line under Pochettino.

Sanchez and Mina could develop to be a similar partnership, and Mina’s goalscoring record – an average of better than one in 10 at club level and better than one in three for Colombia – would also be appealing given Alderweireld’s early goalscoring record for Spurs.

It may take time for Sanchez and Mina to reach the quality and understanding of Alderweireld and Vertonghen, but they have that potential – and it may well be on Pochettino’s mind if a move for Mina does materialise this summer.