No, this article is by no means a head to head comparison of the two players. Kyle Walker plays as a Right back and recently joined Manchester City from Tottenham Hotspur for a deal worth £50 million whereas Davinson Sanchez plays at centre back and joined Spurs in a £42 million deal from Europa League finalists Ajax.
While Kyle Walker’s transfer was criticised by many from the footballing fraternity for being “too expensive”, young Davinson Sanchez’s move to England has been lauded. Age certainly could be a factor here with Walker having turned 27 years and Sanchez just 21, but it is surprising as to how when clubs like City or Chelsea buy youngsters for high prices, everyone loses their minds and accuses them of spoiling football.
Here is explaining why Kyle Walker is worth every penny Pep made his bosses pay for him:
1) Walker has a vast amount of Premier League experience. He has featured 198 times for Spurs.
2) English players are always priced highly and Walker is no exception. He also adds to the home grown quota at City.
3) Walker has featured in the Team of the season twice, most recently last year and a player making that team in such a tough league surely sees his value soar.
4) Spurs were never going to sell to a direct title rival for cheap. They could not avoid the sale as they received a good amount of money for a player who had seemingly lost interest in representing the club.
Having said Walker is ‘worth the money’ is taking nothing away from Davinson Sanchez’s high profile move. He arrived at Ajax for 5 million euros from Atletico Nacional after winning the Copa Libertadores with them. He is extremely strong in the air and started 32 out of 34 games last season, missing the first game due to his late arrival. He played a crucial role in leading Ajax to their first European final since 1996 playing every minute of the knockout stage except the game that he missed due to suspension.
A former defensive midfielder, Sanchez is incredibly comfortable with his distribution of the ball and completed 88.9 percent of his passes last season. With all those qualities at such a tender age, Sanchez was never going to command a fee lower than that, especially with the current inflated market.
At Spurs, he will slot right in the middle of the back three that Pochettino has grown a liking towards and should do comfortably well alongside Alderweireld and Vertonghen.
So as far as signings go, both City and Spurs have made good use of their money. One for a proven and experienced player. One for a young and potentially future world class defender. Only time will tell how much these players adjust at their new clubs and whether they have repaid the amounts splurged on them.
