Revealed: Pochettino to rebuild Tottenham defence around ace who may cost another £14m

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Published on:

31 Oct 2019, 1:30 am

Mauricio Pochettino plans to rebuild the Tottenham defence around Davinson Sanchez, Football Insider understands.

The Colombia international, 23, has not always been a regular at the back for Spurs but he could be the only current mainstay still at the club this time next year.

A Tottenham source has told Football Insider that the club will listen to offers for senior defensive quartet Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen, Danny Rose and Serge Aurier in the January window as a massive overhaul gets underway.

Pochettino has no intention of cashing in on Sanchez, who he regards capable of becoming one of the outstanding defenders in the world as he matures and gets more top-level experience.

Sanchez was signed from Ajax in the summer of 2017 for a fee of around £28 million, with another potential £14 million in add-ons.

He kept Alderweireld out of the side with some dominant performances in the second half of his debut campaign and has continued to be used regularly by Pochettino as part of a three-man defence or a more traditional flat back four.

The manager has noticeably selected Sanchez to start each of Tottenham's three matches since the international break, against Watford, Red Star Belgrade and Liverpool.

By contrast, Alderweireld and Vertonghen have each begun two of those games, as Pochettino makes the gradual shifts that will soon become more significant ones in defence.

Sanchez has made 87 appearances for Tottenham, and has also been capped 22 times by Colombia.

In other Tottenham news, Football Insider can reveal that Pochettino is to veto plans to give a big-name player a new deal.

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