According to the latest reports, Leeds United are going to try to sign Tottenham Hotspur’s defender Juan Foyth on loan in January. Reports say that Bielsa is going to get an excellent opportunity to sign the 20-year-old centre back as Foyth is himself considering leaving the North London club in January. Lack of game time and playing opportunities is the primary cause for this as the 20-year-old hasn’t played a single minute of football this campaign.
This is not the first time that Foyth’s name has been associated with a move to Leeds United and Bielsa’s presence at Elland Road also increases the possibility of the youngster coming to West Yorkshire. One can understand why Mauricio Pochettino kept hold of him in the summer as there was uncertainty about Toby Alderweireld’s future as the Belgian was constantly linked with a move away from the club. Now that he stayed put, the Argentine centre-back has been overlooked throughout the season so far.
Reports earlier came out that Bielsa has identified the centre-back role as one of the three positions where he wants to add reinforcement, and someone like Foyth would be a perfect signing in January. The Whites have had to play with makeshift centre-back in quite a few games. Therefore, signing someone like Foyth should be of topmost priority if the Whites want to continue their good run in the Championship.
Pochettino has come up from the Bielsa school of football, and one can expect Foyth to take into Bielsa’s system as a fish takes to water. The defender has worked with Pochettino, and there are more than a few similarities between the playing style of United and Tottenham.
The Argentine defender is comfortable on the ball and can dictate the play from deep areas. So much so that we believe, he can even turn out as a defensive midfielder for Leeds United. As a defender, he reads the situations well and is strong and decisive in his challenges.
Pochettino spent £8m on this youngster, and so there must be something special in him. He is highly rated even in North London, but the club has three terrific centre-backs in the form of Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld and Davinson Sanzhez.
United definitely need depth in their squad, especially at the back. Liam Cooper, Pontus Jansson and Gaetano Berardi have all been injured at some point this season. The Whites were lucky in the past month that neither Cooper or Jansson suffered any injuries as they were the last two fit centre-backs at the club as both Berardi and Conor Shaughnessy were out due to injuries. A situation like this can come up in the future and to avoid being found in a precarious position like that; the club should go all out to get Foyth at Elland Road in January on loan.
