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Tottenham shock: Davinson Sanchez may lose his starting spot

By Rucker Haringey

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 18: Davinson Sanchez of Tottenham Hotspur and Alexis Sanchez of Arsenal battle for possession during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur at Emirates Stadium on November 18, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 18: Davinson Sanchez of Tottenham Hotspur and Alexis Sanchez of Arsenal battle for possession during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur at Emirates Stadium on November 18, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images) /
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Davinson Sanchez may be headed to the Tottenham bench

Football can be a very cruel game and Tottenham defender Davinson Sanchez may soon find that out. Despite his excellent play to begin his Spurs career, the Colombian defender could soon lose his starting spot in Mauricio Pochettino’s starting XI.

Somewhat surprisingly, his perilous place in the starting lineup doesn’t have much to do with his reckless red card against Watford. That foolish decision didn’t help his standing with Pochettino, but it’s not the driving factor that may send him to the bench.

Instead, Pochettino’s decision to switch his squad back to a 4-2-3-1 formation may leave Sanchez out in the cold. It’s hard to imagine him starting many matches ahead of the Belgian duo of Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen. The latter has been a rock for Spurs this season and Alderweireld is set to return soon from a significant injury layoff.

Curiously, it may actually be Heung-Min Son that is most responsible for Sanchez’s likely benching. The Korean attacker has been nothing short of magnificent for Pochettino in recent weeks. He absolutely terrorized Stoke City this weekend and seems to be entering a fine run of form. Tottenham simply can’t afford to leave such a significant goal scoring threat out of the starting XI at the moment.

As good as Son has been, he isn’t going to put Christian Eriksen or Dele Alli on the bench very often. That means Pochettino will be forced to play three attacking midfielders at once. It’s quite difficult to do that while deploying three central defenders. That means Pochettino will essentially need to choose between Sanchez and Son before every match.

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In fairness, I wouldn’t expect this to be a permanent switch. Son is on fire at the moment, but he’s unlikely to keep up this sort of form for the entire season. At some point, his performance will drop off. A slump for Son could lead Pochettino to deploy three at the back once again. Of course, it could also give Erik Lamela his chance to regain his starting spot in the attacking midfield.

Injuries could also change Sanchez’s fortunes in an instant. If either Alderweireld or Vertonghen suffer any sort of knock, he’s going to go right into the lineup in their place. He’s played too well this season for anyone else to displace him as Pochettino’s third centre back.

At the same time, and injury to one of Tottenham’s attacking midfielders could also lead to Pochettino reverting to three at the back. That would be a negative outcome for Spurs, but it would likely put Sanchez back into the starting XI.

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Davinson Sanchez isn’t likely to be a bench player for the rest of the year, but it’s very likely he’s going to find himself on the substitute’s bench in the near future. Tottenham’s record transfer signing may soon struggle for playing time.

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