Tottenham star Davinson Sanchez draws flak from former Colombia manager

According to Express, Tottenham star Davinson Sanchez has come under a bit of flak from Jorge Luis Pinto. The defender was not at his best during the international break for Colombia and the former manager of the national team went on to deliver quite a scathing review of Sanchez.

It’s been a tough road for Sanchez since his transfer to Spurs four years ago. Once regarded as a prodigious talent from Ajax, the Colombian has impressed in brief spells and it has been a case of largely underwhelming performances. Oftentimes, Sanchez found himself on the bench when the likes of Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen were there.

Sanchez appeared to have had a renaissance this season in his first three games in the league, marshalling the backline with Eric Dier. The duo kept three consecutive clean sheets before he went off on international duty with Colombia. His meek showings in the draws with Bolivia and Paraguay somewhat dimmed the bright start.

Pinto is clearly not a fan of Sanchez

Jorge Luis Pinto who managed Colombia in 2007 and 2008 was clearly not impressed with the defender and held back nothing when it came to his criticism.

“Four years ago I told my son, who loves football, that Davinson is not a centre-back for the Colombia national team. With all the respect that Davinson deserves, he is a healthy, correct, hardworking man and everything. But he doesn’t have the talent, the playing time – all those details that a centre-back needs. The time of play, the handling of game intent, the handling of backs, the defensive breakdowns, the shock impact that sometimes you can’t be so aggressive.

While had no problems with the player on a personal level, he was not the least bit impressed with the player’s professional qualities. He went on to add that Sanchez lacks a lot of the attributes associated with elite defenders.

“Davinson is an extraordinary human being, as the lads have told me. But he lacks that slow, balanced handling of the play, knowing how to correspond to the line of four. I have said that the line of four is a collective system – it is not an individual action. It is a system of four and with the midfielders of six or eight players. And Davinson lacks that combination, that collective understanding.”

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Sanchez has been decent this season and the side suffered in his absence. He may not be the most composed of defenders but he does put in the effort. It will be interesting to see if he retains his place once the likes of Cristian Romero and Joe Rodon are back in contention.