Tottenham take near £30m hit after confirming sale of centre-back as Ndombele seals another loan switch

Tottenham have confirmed that defender Davinson Sanchez has joined Turkish side Galatasaray, with the fee expected to be in the region of €15million (£12.8m).

The Colombia international moved to north London from Ajax in a £42m deal in August 2017 and made his debut as a substitute in a 1-1 home draw with Burnley in the Premier League later that month, with his full debut following in a 3-0 victory at Everton that September.

But despite a bright start to life at Spurs, where he excelled in a back three at times with veteran duo Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld, the wheels came off for Sanchez in recent campaigns under successive managers.

The 27-year-old has not been able to hold down a regular starting spot for a number of years and when he did get a chance was often error-strewn.

Indeed, his last appearance for the club was in the Carabao Cup loss to Fulham in which he missed the decisive penalty in the shootout.

Sanchez made 207 appearances in total for the club, scoring five times.

Postecoglou left light on centre-backs

His sale is somewhat surprising, however, given that Tottenham are light on centre-backs after Eric Dier was frozen out of the first-team picture and Japhet Tanganga left on loan on deadline day.

That leaves Ben Davies and summer signing Ashley Phillips as the only other options available to Ange Postecoglou behind regular starters Cristian Romero and Mikcy van de Ven – unless Dier is thrown an olive branch.

Thank you for your six years of service to our Club, @daosanchez26 🫡 pic.twitter.com/t1usirnxKW

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 4, 2023

Sanchez, meanwhile, is not the only Tottenham star Galatasary bound with playmaker Tanguy Ndombele completing a loan move to the Turkish giants.

It’s understood that there is an option to buy inserted in the contract for around €15m.

Spurs are back in action after the international break on September 16 when they host Sheffield United in the Premier League.

READ MORE: Tottenham snubbed chance to sign Postecoglou favourite in favour of £47.5m Brennan Johnson move