This transfer window can be described with two words – unabashed spending. With the added revenue of extravagant TV contracts, and seemingly entire states bankrolling clubs, the amount of money being thrown around is absolutely ludicrous. The Manchester clubs have come to a joint decision that only Manchester can reign king in England – and their transfer window activity has reflected this sentiment, with neither side hesitating to pay whatever it takes for the likes of Lukaku, Bernardo Silva, Walker, and Matic.

Even looking a bit lower in the table, teams like Stoke, West Ham, and Everton have made huge signings (Jese, Chicharito, and Rooney among others). In a summer of noise, one team has stayed dead silent – Tottenham Hotspur.

One can only imagine that the lack of activity from Levy and Pochettino’s part can only be explained with a thoroughly complicated answer – a phenomenal first team that few players would improve, a somewhat restrictive wage policy, and a brand new, £750m stadium being built.

Needless to say it’s been a tense summer for Spurs fans. With the departure of long-time club servant, Kyle Walker, and his comrade-in-fullback-arms, Danny Rose, coming out publicly to denounce Tottenham’s transfer and wage policy, things have gotten testy.

Enough has been written about Danny Rose, his comments, and whether he was right or wrong to, essentially, go behind the club’s back and talk to a widely disparaged news outlet in The Sun. One thing’s for certain – ever since the interview broke, there’s been a lot of activity at Tottenham. Pochettino himself has gone and said that he aims to sign four players by the end of the transfer window.

Tottenham’s first signing, Davinson Sanchez, has come as a bit of a surprise for most followers of the club. A bit of an unknown quantity for most, he made a name for himself at Ajax last season, after arriving from Colombian side Atletico Nacional for a measly €5m. Since then, he’s grown to be one of the Eredevisie’s very best defenders.

Admittedly, at first it seems like a bit of a head-scratcher – Spurs have arguably the best center half pairing in Alderweireld and Vertonghen (both Ajax old boys themselves), and a more than adequate Dier who joins them when Pochettino opts for a back three.

However with Wimmer seemingly discontent, and Cameron Carter-Vickers still working to prove he has the quality to be involved in more action, there’s a bit of a drop in quality when either one of Vertonghen or Alderweireld are out.

Clearly, having players as good as the Belgian pairing is a double-edged sword. They become so pivotal to a team’s success that the team struggle when either one is out due to injury or suspension. Although Wimmer has been an adequate option to fill in if either player is out, the drop in quality is apparent, albeit small.

Sanchez himself is – theoretically – the answer to this problem, simply because he’s such a similar player to both Vertonghen and Alderweireld. He’s aggressive, reads the game incredibly well, and has a truly phenomenal last-ditch tackle in him. Perhaps even more importantly, he’s very good with the ball at his feet – crucial for Pochettino’s system, where most plays start from the back.

This is all apparent just by watching a couple of his games (most notably his performances in the Europa League), but numbers back it up. Below I’ve compared Sanchez’ stats to Tottenham’s three star center halves, in categories important to Pochettino: regaining possession, discipline, and moving the ball forward.

Sanchez is the perfect type of defender for Pochettino’s system. Dier, Vertonghen, and Alderweireld have all thrived under the Argentinian, and it’s very likely that that Sanchez will as well.

The question is where does this leave Dier, a player who has put his wishes aside (widely known for wanting to play in the middle of the pitch) for the sake of the manager and the club. By no means is he someone deserving the bench, he would walk into all but two or three clubs’ starting eleven in the Premier League. But how do you fit Sanchez – the new club record signing that will surely be in the first eleven sooner rather than later – and Dier on the same pitch?

Instead of creating issues with Dier’s inclusion to the team, I’d argue that the acquisition of Sanchez provides more answers than questions. Apart from adding depth in the center half position should/when injuries or suspensions occur, it also means that a certain amount of rotation can take place without dropping the quality of the first team.

With such an intense and exhausting system, Pochettino is more than happy to rotate players when he deems that they are of a similar level – best example would be Walker and Trippier last year, and to a lesser extent Davies and Rose. Should Sanchez hit the same stride that he did in Ajax, it’s not unlikely to see him starting to the right of Alderweireld in a back three one weekend, and slotting in at the back four the next.

Meanwhile, in the middle of the pitch, Wanyama and Dier will battle it out for their own starting spot. Pochettino was recently quoted as saying he understands that players need competition for their position in order for them to improve. Although Wanyama’s mobility edges him for the starting spot in the center, he’ll have his work cut out for him to stay ahead of Dier.

In a nutshell, this transfer means that Tottenham will have frankly incredible depth in both the center half and defensive mid positions. Considering we’re aiming to play 60+ games this season, it’s a massive boost.

With the teams Spurs beat out to sign Sanchez, and the amount of money the club spent to bring him in, it sends a signal to others in the market – Tottenham is a top destination. If the North London side can manage two or three more signings of this quality (quality, not monetary value) it’ll be a transfer window to remember.