Martin Keown has claimed that Tottenham centre-back Juan Foyth has reminded of himself and the way that he started his career at Arsenal by playing in the big games.
Foyth, 20, has been thrown in Mauricio Pochettino’s starting line-up lately due to injuries but the Argentine has impressed in wins against West Ham, Wolves, Crystal Palace and Chelsea.
He was ineligible to play in the 1-0 win against Inter Milan on Wednesday but could be back in the starting line-up for the North London derby against Arsenal this weekend.
And Gunners legend Keown reckons that if he can impress on Sunday that he could become a mainstay in Pochettino’s side.
“I look at a young player like Juan Foyth who is living the dream. Not that long ago, he could never have imagined he would be in the first team but on Saturday he was part of the side which blew Chelsea away,” said Keown on the Daily Mail website.
“It reminds me of how my Arsenal career started with tough matches against Liverpool, Manchester United and then Tottenham. I knew then that if we won, I would stay in the team. That is the mentality Foyth will take into this game.”
OPINION
Foyth has been outstanding for Tottenham since he was called upon to play regularly in the last month. Jan Vertonghen and Davinson Sanchez have both been injured but Vertonghen has recently returned and could, unfortunately for Foyth, force the 20-year-old out of the reckoning once again. It is a shame for Foyth but in those few games that he started, he showed a lot of promise and potential. Even though he has only made 12 appearances in all competitions since joining Spurs last year, the defender in clearly improving. If his game-time does reduce between now and the start of January then Pochettino must really think about sending him out on loan. Premier League club will be queuing up to sign him on a temporary basis and if Alderweireld leaves North London next summer then Foyth can return from his loan and be a ready-made replacement. Pochettino cannot let Foyth fall down the pecking order again.