Tottenham Hotspur brought in the Colombian international during the summer transfer window.
Former Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar has been speaking to the London Evening Standard about Davinson Sanchez’s switch from Ajax to Tottenham Hotspur this summer.
The 21-year-old completed a club-record £42million move (as reported by the BBC) to a Spurs side that struggled for much of the transfer window before a late flurry of activity, and he is expected to make his mark in due course given his innate talent and his early impact in the Eredivisie.
However, Van der Sar, who is now CEO at Ajax, believes the player should have stayed where he was for a while longer.
“I think with Sanchez one year was too early,” the former United stopper told the Standard. “He should have stayed two or three years.
“But sometimes with the financial power that is looming over us in the bigger leagues it’s quite difficult for even a big club like Ajax coming from a small league to resist certain transfers.”
Sanchez broke into the Ajax first-team last season, featuring 36 times in all competitions and earning a reputation as one of Europe’s best young centre-backs.
His performance in the Europa League final against Manchester United reinforced his reputation, yet it was still a surprise when Tottenham bid big to bring him to North London when they already have a number of impressive defenders on their books.
In time Sanchez is expected to replace one of Jan Vertonghen or Toby Alderweireld in the starting XI, but as long as the Belgian duo remain at the club it will be interesting to see how Tottenham line up to accommodate all three players.
Pochettino has favoured three centre-backs at times and that could be the solution to keep everyone happy in the short term.
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