Tottenham could have signed Davinson Sanchez as Toby Alderweireld replacement

Former Tottenham Hotspur stalwart Darren Anderton believes that Davinson Sanchez may have been brought to north London as a potential replacement for Toby Alderweireld, although claims the club should still "break the bank" to retain the latter amid reported interest from the likes of Chelsea and Inter Milan.

After a summer of frustrating transfer passivity that saw Spurs stand alone as the only Premier League club not to make a single new addition, they finally announced last week that highly-rated young Ajax defender Sanchez had signed a six-year contract at Wembley Stadium subject to a medical and the granting of a work permit.

The deal, which the Dutch giants claim to be worth an initial €40m (£36.9m, $47.2m) that could rise to €42m with add-ons, was confirmed on Wednesday and will see the Colombian international replace 2016 deadline day flop Moussa Sissoko as Tottenham's record signing.

The arrival of a new centre-back is likely to further fuel speculation over Alderweireld's future, with the Belgian one of the only members of Mauricio Pochettino's first-team squad who has not put pen to paper on a contract extension over the past year or so.

Alderweireld, who still has three years left to run on his current £50,000-a-week deal, is said to be seeking parity with top earners Hugo Lloris and Harry Kane on wages in excess of £100,000-a-week.

Spurs are seemingly refusing to budge on their rigid wage structure, however, leading to reports from the Sunday Times that London rivals Chelsea could be plotting an audacious offer to lure him across the capital. Corriere dello Sport also claim that Serie A outfit Inter are closely monitoring the situation with a view to a possible late swoop before the 31 August transfer deadline.

"There could be a chance that Tottenham have signed Sanchez as a replacement for Alderweireld," Anderton told sportingbet.com. "Toby gives an 8 of 10 performance every week and they need to break the bank to keep him. The quality of the team has improved since he's been there and [Jan] Vertonghen's performances have improved so much having him alongside. For me, it's most essential that Spurs keep hold of Toby."

The issue of Tottenham's comparative frugality with regards to wages was recently brought to the fore by Danny Rose, who later apologised for a controversial interview in which he questioned their transfer policy and stated that he and his teammates were worth more than what they were getting.

And while Anderton believes that the injured left-back should have kept his thoughts "in-house", he acknowledges the issue needs looking at and fears that the Lilywhites could be in danger of dropping out of the top six altogether.

"There's always going to be offers coming in for your top players and Tottenham have got players that could walk into other teams, and of course with there being so much money, players heads will be turned," he said.

"Its something that needs to be addressed, the players Tottenham have to be paid the value they are worth. When someone offers you a lot more money, the likelihood is you are going to be tempted. All players have values, Kyle Walker, as a right back, has gone for £50m and is earning a hell of a lot more money somewhere else. So it is definitely a worry."

He added: "Tottenham are at risk of falling out of the top six if they don't spend the money that others around them are spending. The players that Spurs are lucky to have at the moment wouldn't be turning their heads if they were earning the same amount the others around them were".