Juan Foyth may have emerged as the latest young gem in Mauricio Pochettino's ongoing revolution at Tottenham this season, but his performance against Burnley on Saturday left much to be desired.
The Argentine has often stood admirably alongside the more seasoned likes of Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen in the Spurs backline this term, but Foyth's lack of experience and continued adaptation to the rigours of the Premier League were exposed at Turf Moor.
Wow!
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) February 23, 2019
Fair to say Mauricio Pochettino is not happy with referee Mike Dean after his side’s loss at Turf Moor!
Reaction in our live blog: https://t.co/8ntnbWB8dh pic.twitter.com/boXTN2od8f
Tottenham's 2-1 defeat away to the Clarets was one of a lesser quality than that which has generally been on show from Pochettino's side this term as they have staged an outside bid for the title, and Foyth's display summed up a disappointing day for the north Londoners.
The visitors were twice caught out at the back with uncharacteristically sloppy defending, and Burnley punished them on both occasions. In all, Foyth made just 36 accurate passes in the game, compared to the 56 of Toby Alderweireld and 71 from Jan Vertonghen.
Spurs' passing game begins with the technical quality of their central defenders moving the ball out from the back, but Foyth's display on Saturday proved that he is not yet at the same technical level as his Belgian rear-guard partners.
Foyth completed just 67.9% of his passes, compared to Alderweireld's 83.6% and Vertonghen's 84.5% success rate. Spurs' game suffered from an uncharacteristic lack of quality on Saturday, and that issue started at the back with Foyth.
In defensive terms, Foyth failed to register a single tackle in Saturday's game, while Alderweireld managed three and Vertonghen chipped in with one. Foyth also made five clearances at Turf Moor, one less than Vertonghen's six.
I’m bored of people saying Foyth is gonna be a superstar and this that and the other he makes far too many mistakes for my liking #coys #foyth
— mark pawley (@tuckers35) February 23, 2019
Crucially, Foyth lost the ball 17 times against Sean Dyche's side, six more times than Alderweireld, whilst he recovered the ball just three times, compared to Vertonghen's nine.
Foyth's potential as a budding Premier League centre back is clear to see, but the 21-year-old has a fair amount of fin -tuning to work on in his game in order to reach the required standards.
Alderweireld and Vertonghen have combined to set the bar at a high level of technical quality and defensive astuteness over the years, and Foyth must reach for it if he is to follow in the footsteps of the Belgian duo's successes for Tottenham.
Source: 90min
