According Charlie Eccleshare of The Athletic, Juan Foyth wants to fight for his place at Tottenham, leaving Jose Mourinho with a decision to make on the £15m-rated defender’s future. Foyth has made it clear on numerous occasions that he would leave if he remains on the periphery, but in the last couple of weeks it appears he’s willing to stay.
The 22-year-old has made 32 appearances in all competitions since joining from Estudiantes in 2017, scoring one goal. Foyth made eight appearances in 2017/18, 17 appearances in 2018/19 and seven appearances in 2019/20.
He amassed only 262 minutes of football last season and didn’t feature at all in 2020, as Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld, Davinson Sanchez, Japhet Tanganga and Eric Dier were preferred at centre-back. Foyth had injuries at the start and end of the campaign, and was reduced to being an unused substitute when fit.
Tottenham have to offload their expendable players to generate funds towards new recruits, so it makes business sense to sell Foyth. The 22-year-old is valued at £15m and has interest from Leeds United and Barcelona, but is there any chance of a move now he’s wanting to stay?
Mourinho didn’t give Foyth a single minute of football in 2020 and preferred a young Tanganga & Eric Dier in a makeshift centre-back role over the Argentine, so a transfer was expected. Eccleshare says Foyth has not held talks with Jose over his future, but there are two years remaining on his deal so he still has a say in what happens to him.
We’re on the hunt for another centre-back this summer (Milan Skriniar, Diego Carlos, Kim-Min Jae, Kristoffer Ajer) which could hamper Foyth’s hopes of getting playing time, but pre-season does present him with an opportunity to impress.
Foyth is coming off the back of a disappointing season. Not only has he struggled for form and playing time, his agent has been public about unhappiness with the lack of minutes. But his U-turn now means Mourinho would have to force him out to cash in. Signing a new centre-back relies on us selling existing players, so this saga may not be over.