Things move fast in football, especially for Juan Foyth. I’ve mentioned how crazy it is that he was lined up to replace Kieran Trippier at right-back last season but ended up on the periphery.
I’ve also mentioned how sad it is that Foyth is on the list of unwanted players (Paulo Gazzaniga, Danny Rose, Dele Alli) who were once regulars in the first-team under Mauricio Pochettino.
Foyth has joined Villarreal on a season-long loan and may have played his final game for us, as the Spaniards have a buying option attached. The 22-year-old signed a new deal with Tottenham before leaving, however, which has many suggesting he still has a future in North London.
Here’s why he doesn’t…
What the new deal actually means
Foyth was at the penultimate year of his contract and had been on the periphery in the last 12 months, so the writing has been on the wall for some time. The fact we’ve allowed Villarreal the option to sign him permanently suggests we’re moving on from Foyth and want maximum value through his sale.
If Villarreal opted against signing the 22-year-old, he’d be in the final year of his deal after his loan came to an end, so we wouldn’t be in a strong negotiating position.
We paid £11.7m for Foyth in 2017 and agreed a five-year deal worth £21.5k-per-week/£1.1m-a-year. We’re looking to make back €15m which would cover his previous transfer fee and some of his wages. But if Villarreal don’t trigger his buying option, we still have enough transfer windows to offer him out before he’ll be out of contract again. It’s smart from Daniel Levy.
Will we replace Foyth?
To be honest, we don’t really need to. We have Toby Alderweireld, Davinson Sanchez, Japhet Tanganga and Eric Dier who can operate at centre-back and only gave Foyth 262 minutes of football across the board last season, so his departure doesn’t change our approach.
We had been in the market for a centre-back to replace Jan Vertonghen, but we can only sign a player from the Football League now as the transfer window is shut. There’s always the option to return in January, however.