Tottenham Hotspur had high hopes for Juan Foyth under Mauricio Pochettino, but Pochettino’s departure last year was always going to make like tricky for Foyth.
The defender was lured to North London by Pochettino in the summer of 2017, having emerged as a real talent in his native Argentina with Estudiantes.
Pochettino won the race to sign Foyth, but he wasn’t able to nail down a starting role either at centre back or right back, and his fortunes only worsened under Jose Mourinho.
Mourinho didn’t exactly take to Foyth, and a dismal showing at Norwich City in December 2019 effectively ended his Spurs career, as he made no competitive performances for Spurs in 2020.
Now, Tottenham have sent Foyth on loan to Villarreal for the season, with a view to a permanent move – meaning he may well have played his final game for Spurs.
The 22-year-old was presented as a Villarreal player earlier this week, and chief executive Fernando Roig Nogueroles has commented on the move.
As quoted by Marca, Nogueroles has admitted that Villarreal boss Unai Emery wanted to sign Foyth for Paris Saint-Germain, so Villarreal had to move for him.
Emery was Arsenal boss for much of Foyth’s time at Spurs, but he will now be calling him boss – and Nogueroles wants to see the Argentinian at El Madrigal for years to come.
“We knew Foyth well from his time in Argentina, where many European greats were interested in him, including Emery’s PSG,” said Nogueroles. “So we had no option to bring him in. Despite his youth, at 22, he has been competing in the Premier League for three years. A year on loan is coming but hopefully it will be many more years. We believe that his qualities are adapted to our team and that he can give us a lot,” he added.
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