Carlo Ancelotti must be cautious in any efforts to sign Tottenham Hotspur defender Davinson Sanchez amid reports James Rodriguez wants his compatriot to join him at Everton.

What’s the word?

According to Don Balon, Rodriguez would like to see the Goodison Park outfit pursue a potential deal for Sanchez to move to Merseyside and take their Colombian contingent up to three.

It is understood Rodriguez has discussed the potential move with Blues boss Ancelotti, who gave the midfielder the green light to argue the benefits of life at Everton with Sanchez while the pair shared a dressing room with fellow Toffees ace Yerry Mina during the October internationals.

Rodriguez joined Premier League leaders Everton from Real Madrid this summer in a deal reportedly worth between £12m and £20million, though also claimed to be free by his former side Banfield, and he has already proven his worth with three goals and three assists in six Premier League appearances.

Sanchez is a key aspect of Jose Mourinho’s backline at Spurs, with the Portuguese tactician favouring the 24-year-old in four top-flight starting line-ups and all three of the north London side’s Europa League qualifying ties.

A deal to lure the Caloto-born centre-half away from Tottenham would not come cheap, as it is claimed Everton would be willing to pay €45m (£40.6m) for the imposing colossus to up their Colombian contingent and recreate the international unit on Merseyside.

Rodriguez has “spoken wonders” of Everton and the coaching staff at Goodison Park in the hopes of convincing Sanchez of a move, but the Spurs man intends to wait until the end of the season before deciding on his future in order to see if Mourinho can secure any success.

Ancelotti must tread carefully

While Don Balon claim Ancelotti gave Rodriguez the green light to argue the benefits of life at Everton, the Italian would be wise to tread carefully in any pursuit of the Tottenham defender, especially at the £40.6m figure touted.

Sanchez has frequently been the subject of criticism during his time in north London, with former Chelsea star Tony Cascarino of the belief Mourinho considered the centre-back to be a weak-link during the 2017 Europa League Final while in charge of Manchester United.

“I can tell you for nothing that in 2017, when Manchester United played Ajax in the Europa League final, which they won, I know before the game that Davinson Sanchez was a target for Manchester United,” Cascarino, who used to work on Dutch Football, told talkSPORT.

“That was one of the tactics that Jose used thinking he was a weakness. He’s now in the heart of the defence of Spurs. A guy that Jose obviously didn’t rate and saw as a weak-link on the night and tried to expose him and they did.”

Sanchez was sold to Spurs for a then-club-record £42m shortly after the 2017 Europa League Final and has been a regular in north London when fit since, but is yet to shrug the concerns from three years ago and would be a very expensive gamble by Everton just to appease Rodriguez.

AND in other news, Carlo Ancelotti has landed a big break but it comes as an unfortunate blow for a “talented” Everton ace.