Is Argentine the Juan to bolster Tottenham defence this summer?
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Tottenham Hotspur have been unusually quiet on the transfer front so far, but Mauricio Pochettino now seems ready to open his war chest to secure the signature of Estudiantes youngster Juan Foyth.
The 19-year-old is just 4/5 to join the North London club this summer, with Poch reportedly willing to meet the Argentine heavyweights’ £10m asking price.
While that isn’t huge money in Premier League terms, the seven-figure sum represents a sizeable investment on a player who’s played just four (yes, four) games of senior football. So, is he worth it?
Foyth has certainly looked composed in his smattering of appearances for Los Pincharratas, but it’s for Argentina Under-20s where he’s really made his name.
The defender has 12 outings for the national side under his belt, helping them reach the knockout phase of the South American Youth Football Championship, before playing every minute of Albicelestes’ Under-20 World Cup campaign earlier this summer.
It certainly makes sense for Spurs to add a centre-back this summer, with the unsettled Kevin Wimmer likely to force the move he’s been agitating for. And with Jan Vertonghen having turned 30-years-old in April, there’s an argument the Argentine teen could be his long-term replacement.
One thing there’s little doubt about is that Pochettino has found a player very much in his own image.
A strong but classy and confident Argentine centre-back keen to get his big break in Europe, the parallels between the Estudiantes youngster’s current situation and the Spurs gaffer’s career trajectory are very clear.
The question is, would he turn out to be a savvy import like the young Poch was for Espanyol, or a young flop ill-equipped for English football – as Wimmer has been?
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
