Villarreal defender Juan Foyth admits that he jumped at the chance to leave Tottenham Hotspur after falling out of favour under Jose Mourinho, speaking to Onda Cero.
A team chock-full of English football misfits are potentially just 90 minutes away from the Champions League semi-finals.
Last week, as Villarreal outplayed and outscored Bayern Munich at the Estadio de la Ceramica, Unai Emery was barking orders from the sidelines, Etienne Capoue was shining in central midfield, Giovanni Lo Celso was dictating proceedings while Foyth and one-time Watford defender Pervis Estupinan were flying up and down the flanks.
That’s without mentioning Serge Aurier, Alberto Moreno, former QPR loanee Dani Parejo and one-time Leeds winger Alfonso Pedraza.
Foyth, meanwhile, has been so impressive under former Arsenal boss Emery that some have suggested he could be a summer target for Real Madrid (CM).
Whether there is any truth to those claims is a matter of debate.
But the fact remains that, if Tottenham could turn back the clock, some in North London may have done more to retain the services of a 24-year-old centre-half-turned-full-back who looks tailor made for Antonio Conte’s three-man defence.
Can Villarreal knock out Bayern Munich?
“When (Jose Mourinho) arrived I was fine,” Foyth explains. “But I had moments when I didn’t deserve to play. I wanted to leave and have more continuity.”
Foyth joined Villarreal on loan in the summer of 2020 before putting pen to paper on a full-time deal some 12 months later.
Should he help the Yellow Submarine sail into uncharted waters against Bayern tonight, you can probably consider that £12.5 million investment repaid with interest.
“I never thought I would have a feeling like this for a club . From the first day I knew that I wanted to stay,” adds Foyth.
“We trust ourselves as a team and we prepare each game in the same way. At least one more goal (in the first-leg) would have been fair but Bayern are one of the best teams in the world.
“With great humility we are going to continue fighting to be there (in the semi-finals). We are going to compete.”
Foyth, an £8 million signing from Estudiantes back in 2017, made just 11 Premier League starts in Tottenham colours.
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