Report: Villarreal interested in purchasing Tottenham’s Juan Foyth, but Spurs want a loan

The transfer rumors have been thick and fast this summer (which is normal) but also kinda weird (which, frankly, is also pretty normal). One of the players regularly linked with a departure from Tottenham Hotspur is Argentine defender Juan Foyth, who has slid down the central defense pecking order since Jose Mourinho took charge. Now, the latest rumor has La Liga club Villarreal showing interest in Foyth, according to Spanish daily AS.

AS isn’t a source we regularly look to when it comes to reliable transfer rumors, but in this case it sounds like it’s another of those crummy-paper-good-journalist situations, as suggested by Spurs fan and Spanish football writer Andrew Gaffney.

The report says that the Yellow Submarine have been tracking Foyth since he was still a youth player at Estudiantes de Plata in Argentina, and they want to sign him permanently, but Tottenham are reluctant to let him go for anything except a loan.

Prior reports have suggested that Spurs would accept bids of £15m for Foyth, so considering that he doesn’t really appear to be in Mourinho’s Tottenham plans holding out for a loan is a bit strange. That goes double if the rumors about Spurs needing to sell in order to buy are also accurate. My guess is that a loan offer is a response to Villarreal interest that doesn’t come close to Tottenham’s required price for a full sale, and that if Villarreal or another club can pony up some more dough then Daniel Levy might be more amenable to letting Foyth go.

It does sound like there have been a number of clubs sniffing after Foyth, but few that have been able to match Spurs’ asking price. We’ll see if that holds as the transfer window marches on... there are certainly enough matches early in the season for Foyth to get some minutes in central defense and time in the shop window.