A disappointing season for Davinson Sanchez at Tottenham Hotspur

Although his season was not a complete disaster, Davinson Sanchez did not have the bounce-back season he was looking for at Tottenham Hotspur. 

After serving as the third cog in a two-man game with Tottenham legends Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld for a couple of seasons, Sanchez was supposed to break out and lead the line in 2020 under Jose Mourinho. Unfortunately, Mourinho’s defence-first, second, and third philosophy was not very suitable for Sanchez, who needs to have less pressure than more.

Sanchez did not take the step up that other Tottenham defenders did

In fairness to Sanchez, Mourinho’s approach put too much stress on the entire backline and goalkeeper to work at Spurs. However, whereas Eric Dier and Ben Davies had incredible seasons, with significant improvement under Antonio Conte, Sanchez has seemingly stagnated and did not take a similar step.

Sanchez did play more minutes in the league than last season whilst starting the same 17 games. However, Sanchez only averaged 70 minutes per appearance in the league and just under 74 minutes per appearance overall. Those totals are far and away the fewest minutes per appearance Sanchez has seen since joining Tottenham in 2017 from Ajax.

The addition of Cristian Romero was a significant factor in Sanchez’s reduced minutes. However, with Conte playing a back three, the opportunities to play should have been greater. However, Sanchez’s lack of versatility limits his options to some extent. Sanchez is better in a four-person defence and has had limited success playing on the left side.

Sanchez was part of the South American contingent that damaged the club’s early start by violating current UK policies surrounding Covid and subsequently missing a match due to Quarantine. Following his return, Sanchez played twice and then, following the defeat at Arsenal, did not play again until Conte’s second game with the club.

Inconsistency is still Sanchez’s most consistent characteristic

Sanchez had many opportunities with Romero’s various injuries and had spells and patches of good performance. However, Sanchez had failed to reach the level of consistency that everyone had hoped he would when he was initially signed from Ajax several years ago. Despite having some moments, like the game-winning goal against Watford, it was a disappointing campaign for Sanchez, who could be moved this summer as Conte and Fabio Paratici continue to remake the north London squad.

Sanchez played an essential role for the team when Cuti got hurt, but not as important as he should have or likely wanted, earning him our HotspurHQ Most Disappointing Player Award.