Tottenham are closing in on their first signing of the transfer window after they agreed a club record fee of up to £42m with Ajax for centre-half Davinson Sánchez, with the Colombia defender now expected to compete his move in the coming days.

Mauricio Pochettino had previously expressed his disappointment after a summer of inactivity which has so far seen last season’s Premier League runners up fail to add to their squad despite the sale of Kyle Walker to Manchester City for a fee that could reach £50m. The Spurs manager made the 21-year-old Sánchez his primary defensive target after an impressive debut season in European football in which Ajax reached the Europa League final, when they were beaten by Manchester United.

Tottenham officials travelled to Amsterdam on Monday in an attempt to thrash out a deal, with the Dutch side initially adamant that they would not sell for less than €50m. A first bid worth an initial £25m was rejected but a new offer that will see Spurs pay £28m up front with up to £14m in performance-related bonuses has been agreed in principle.

With Sánchez having already indicated his desire to move to north London despite interest from Chelsea, it is expected that he will sign a five-year contract with Pochettino’s side.

Tottenham remain interested in the Celta Vigo midfielder Pape Cheikh but have yet to negotiate a fee for the Spain youth international. Pochettino also retains an interest in the Everton midfielder Ross Barkley, although Spurs are unwilling to pay his £30m asking price.