Report: Davinson Sanchez demands move to Tottenham Hotspur

Earlier today a report from The Independent came out claiming that Tottenham target Davinson Sanchez has told his current club, Ajax, that he wants a move to Spurs.

The 21-year-old central defender has already had his head turned by Tottenham and, on Monday, communicated his desire to leave the club to senior Ajax staff. An offer in the region of £28m is expected in the coming hours, though Ajax are thought to be holding out for closer to £35m.

That said, Ajax’s leadership has issued a statement saying the club has no intentions to sell:

Sanchez was left out of the Dutch side's Eredivisie opener on Saturday because manager Marcel Keizer and sporting director Marc Overmars felt he was not focused enough amid the uncertainty.

Overmars has also confirmed to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf that Ajax have offered him an improved contract after just one successful year at the club.

An Ajax spokesperson told Sky Sports News on Sunday: "Last year Sanchez signed a five-year contract and we don't want to let him go.

"That's what (sporting director) Marc Overmars has told the player and his agents. He is a great player who is very important for us. Next to that, we never comment on rumours regarding transfers."

What we have, then, is a situation that should look familiar to Spurs fans: A smaller team has a promising young player signed to a long-term contract who wants to leave. A larger team wants to sign the player. Where have we seen this before?

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Dammit.

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Oh yeah.

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You get the point.

That said, it’s nice to be on the other side for once.

At this point, if experience tells us anything, it is basically a game of chicken to see who swerves first. If Sanchez flinches and agrees to stay with the club, then he’ll remain with Ajax and if our record is anything to go on he’ll turn up at Stamford Bridge in two to three years and turn into a world-class center back. (Sorry, this transfer window has put me in a mood.)

That said, Phillipe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele are in similar situations and are both basically on strike at the moment trying to force a move. So these things can go either way. For now, all we can do is wait and see. At minimum, this seems to be the furthest we have progressed with any target this summer. Now the ball is basically in Sanchez’s court: Will he force a move or accept another year with Ajax?