Tottenham put their faith in youthful Ashley Phillips as Davinson Sanchez joins Galatasaray. The 18-year-old defender is trusted by Ange Postecoglou to provide Tottenham with centre-back backup while Eric Dier is out.
Tottenham have sold Davinson Sanchez to Galatasaray, with Spurs head coach Ange Postecoglou willing to rely on teenager Ashley Phillips to fill the void.
Sanchez joined the reigning Turkish champions on Monday night in a permanent deal costing little less than £12.8 million, with Spurs teammate Tanguy Ndombele also headed to Istanbul on a season-long loan with a £12.8 million buy option for next summer.
Both signed in time to be included in Galatasaray’s Champions League group stage team.
Under Postecoglou, Sanchez started the season as Spurs’ third-choice center-back, coming off the bench in the opening-day draw at Brentford before starting and missing a shootout penalty in the Carabao Cup second-round loss to Fulham.
With Eric Dier failed to make a single matchday squad under the Australian, summer signing Phillips came off the bench against Burnley on Saturday and could now serve as centre-back cover alongside Ben Davies until at least January.
Phillips, 18, joined Spurs for £3 million in July from Blackburn Rovers, where he played eight times in the Championship last season, and has been training full-time with the first team despite also appearing at Under-21 level.
The England U19 international is highly rated, but unless Postecoglou pulls Dier back in from the cold, he could be forced to play at right center-back if Cristian Romero is injured.
