Opinion: Looking at whether Davinson Sanchez still has a future at Tottenham

Rewind back to 18th August 2017 when Spurs announced the signing of the 21-year-old Columbian centre-back, Davinson Sanchez for a reported transfer fee of £42 million pounds.

It was hard for us Spurs fans not to get excited at the prospect of having one of the most highly-rated young centre backs in the game at the time and, along with the size of the transfer fee, was it a turning point of intent from the club to compete with the elite clubs financially.

Fast forward now to January 2021 and he now seems to find himself on the periphery of the team, begging the question, does Davinson Sanchez have a future at Spurs?

Looking at Sanchez when he joined Spurs at 6ft 2in and blessed with an extra yard of pace than most, he had all the key attributes to become a household name in the Lilywhite backline for many years to come.

Obviously, at 21 he was still a raw talent and would come with the odd mistake but it was expected that by learning from Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen, he would be moulded into a great centre-back.

In his final game prior to joining Spurs, it is publicly known that Mourinho ‘targeted’ Sanchez. Therefore, when The Special One joined the club it would not have been a surprise to have seen him cast aside the Colombian.

However, this did not happen immediately as perhaps Mourinho saw something in him that he thought he could mould into a rock-solid centre back, as he has done so with so many defenders in the past.

Having only started six Premier League games this season, Sanchez has never really kicked on from his first years at the club and still has the occasional mistake in him.

It seems as though he hasn’t won over Mourinho with his performances since he’s been in charge, certainly not to warrant being a mainstay at centre-back in his side.

At 24-years-old with three years remaining on his deal, he will be seen as the most vulnerable of the centre-backs to be sold in order to raise some much-needed in the summer.

Alasdair Gold recently revealed that Spurs do not expect any incoming in January, so perhaps Sanchez has until the summer to convince the manager that he has a future at the club.

In conclusion, it remains to be seen whether Davinson Sanchez has a long-term future at the club but, at the young age of 24, there is time for him to turn around the mediocre start to his Spurs career.

Unfortunately, on the evidence so far under Mourinho, he seems less than convinced and could be sold in order to fund a move for another centre back that Mourinho prefers. With a heavy heart, I suspect that this may be a likely scenario for Sanchez come the summer.

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