Why Tottenham made a big blunder by not signing Dani Alves

According to a report from the Express, Tottenham had made a contact with Dani Alves over a move to north London. But a transfer didn’t happen and the Brazilian defender returned to his country to join Sao Paulo on a free transfer.

Dani Alves, 36, who moved to Europe via Sevilla from Bahia in 2002 – was a free agent following his Paris Saint-Germain departure after two years with the Ligue 1 champions. He signed a contract with Sao Paulo until December 2022, after captaining Brazil to Copa America glory on home soil in July – taking his career haul to 40 trophies.

Signing a player of Alves’s age would have gone against Tottenham’s transfer policy but they have certainly made a mistake by missing out on one of the most highly-rated right-backs in world football.

Tottenham sold Kieran Trippier to Atletico Madrid in the summer but didn’t bring in his replacement, putting his faith in Kyle Walker-Peters, Serge Aurier and Juan Foyth. Walker-Peters is highly-rated at the club and it’s no surprise to see Mauricio Pochettino start the new season with him at right-back.

But the youngster’s deputy at right-back—Aurier—is still keen on leaving the club, with the Ivory Coast international struggling to get his name on Mauricio Pochettino’s team-sheet this season.

Aurier, so far, has played no part in the club’s opening two games, not even making the bench in the 2-2 draw with Manchester City. Furthermore, Foyth has been ruled out until September with an ankle injury sustained against Bayern Munich in pre-season.

With Aurier keen to leave Spurs and Foyth out injured, Walker-Peters is the only natural right-back left at Pochettino’s disposal. Knowing the gruelling nature of the Premier League, the Spurs boss should have snapped up Dani Alves on a free transfer.

In Alves, Tottenham could have landed the most decorated player in football history. The veteran Brazilian defender’s volumes of experience and winning mentality would have come handy to a Spurs side aiming to win trophies this season.

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Despite turning 36, he hasn’t shown signs of slowing down and made a perfect start to life at Sao Paulo by scoring the winner on his debut. Moreover, the talented Walker-Peters could have mightily benefited from playing as an understudy to Alves for a year or two.

Verdict

First of all, it was a bit surprising to watch Spurs not sign a replacement for Tripper. But when they had a chance to sign Alves on a free transfer, Pochettino made a big mistake in not bringing in the serial winner.