Unai Emery has already identified Aston Villa's benefit in Juan Foyth transfer pursuit
Unai Emery is certainly no stranger to the abilities of Juan Foyth. The Aston Villa boss was eager to bring the defender to Paris Saint Germain in the summer transfer window of 2017, only for the serial French champions to be pipped to his signature by Tottenham Hotspur, who completed the signing of Foyth from Estudiantes for £8m.
Emery got a good look at Foyth when he too made the switch to North London when taking over from Arsene Wenger in 2018, and finally got his man in the summer of 2020 when Foyth moved out to Villarreal on an initial loan basis. The move played out successfully; Foyth helped Emery and Villarreal lift the Europa League and his permanent move was confirmed thereafter.
Foyth signed a five-year deal in the summer of 2021, of which there remains 18 months left on his contract, but after the move for Loic Bade of Sevilla broke down, Emery has turned his attentions to a familiar face. It's Foyth's versatility and ability to play at centre half and at right-back, as well as his natural talent, which attracts Emery, who is currently without Foyth's old teammate Pau Torres and, possibly, Tyrone Mings through injury.
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“I knew Juan Foyth, I called him to sign for PSG, but he had already signed with Tottenham,” Emery told AS, via Sport Witness, in 2021. “He was a player that we knew well and knew that his versatility would give us a lot. That versatility and his quality is what we acquire.
"That’s why we signed him, and now he has given us what we expected. His performance has been very good, he has fulfilled all the options at a high, very high level. His versatility was what we wanted, in addition to playing as a centre-back.”
