Tottenham confirm signing of Estudiantes’ Juan Foyth

Tottenham finally wrapped up a rumored months-long saga to sign Argentinian centre-back Juan Foyth on Wednesday afternoon.

The 19-year-old joins from Estudiantes in Argentina, and will arrive in London as Tottenham’s fourth choice centre-back.

Toby Alderwiereld and Jan Vertonghen both currently occupy the one and two spots on that list, with fellow newcomer — and record signing — Davinson Sánchez likely to compete with Eric Dier on the latter’s hold on the third spot.

Foyth’s arrival comes just days after Spurs agreed to a loan move for Academy product Cameron Carter-Vickers and a permanent sale for Kevin Wimmer. Spurs consequently break even on quantity, but can be hopeful their quality will be much improved with Sánchez and Foyth.

Sánchez is much closer to a known quality compared to Foyth. The Colombian featured prominently for Eredivisie side Ajax last term, and started for the club in the Europa League final against Manchester United.

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It’s harder to claim the same sort of familiarity about Foyth. He’s never played outside of Argentina, and indeed never for any club besides Estudiantes. While he’s made some good impressions for Argentina’s under 20 side, he’s hardly made a name for himself international — at least not yet.

All that being said, there’s clearly about Foyth. Tottenham battled for Paris Saint Germain for his signature, after all. It says something too that Mauricio Pochettino would prioritize the signing of a young player like Foyth without much experience.

As the rumor built up steam over the last month, some details have emerged about what can be expected from the young defender. A Bleacher Report scouting report claimed that Foyth resembled an Argentinian John Stones — that is a ball-playing centre-back.

A much more detailed and enthralling look can be found over as ESDF Analysis. It’s that take on the 19-year-old that does the most to convince about Foyth’s future at Spurs.

Essentially what it lays out is that, while rough around the edges, Foyth’s command of the ball and ability to participate in build up play make him something similar to Toby Alderweireld. Outside of Harry Kane, there is no other player more indispensable to Tottenham than the Belgian.

Why Alderweireld is so crucial isn’t worth going over in detail again, but suffice it to say that his distribution skills — both over short and long distances — adds new dimensions to Spurs entire game. In Foyth Tottenham have acquired a long term replacement for Alderweireld, one that might be necessary sooner than anyone thought if a new contract cannot be agreed upon.

It’s unlikely Foyth gets any meaningful minutes this season. He will be given time to adjust to England and the Premier League while Sánchez takes what starts are dropped by any of Alderwiereld, Vertonghen or Dier.

Next: Tottenham move for Serge Aurier already complicated

The Argentinian is a valuable addition to a youthful squad that wants to stay competitive in the long term. This is the kind of signing a club makes when they know where they want to be in five years and not just the end of the season.