TALL ORDER FOR FOYTH
CARABAO CUP Spurs kid takes on Hammers hitman
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MAURICIO POCHETTINO has told rookie Tottenham defender Juan Foyth to prove he can cope with English football.
Argentinian Foyth has been eased in slowly at Spurs but will face his first big test when he starts against West Ham in the Carabao Cup tonight.
The £10m summer signing is highly rated by Pochettino and the centre-half will be asked to prove his credentials by going toe-to-toe with Hammers striker Andy Carroll.
Foyth, 19, enjoyed an armchair ride on his debut in the third round against Barnsley but can expect a far sterner test from Carroll and Co at Wembley.
Pochettino said: “Foyth is young but needs to show why he is here, maybe then he has the possibility to play. You only know if he is ready to play if he plays.
“Maybe in the future, if some players are suspended or maybe we have some injuries, then we’ll play him.
Massive
“I remember playing when I was 17 or 18 against a massive striker – and I’m smaller than Juan. I’d say to myself, ‘Come on, you need to show you can do this’.
“Juan’s at Tottenham now. He needs to fight and prove that he can compete in these type of games.”
Foyth will line up as part of a second-string Spurs side.
Pochettino will rest most of his big-hitters as Spurs prepare for their fourth game in 11 days – with Manchester United and Real Madrid next up. It means that this competition will be low down the list of Pochettino’s priorities, despite the club’s nineyear wait to win a trophy. Pochettino said: “Our objective is to try to win the Premier League and the Champions League. “They are two trophies that can really change your life. And of course I’d like to win the FA Cup. “I would also like to win the Carabao Cup. But I think it will not change the life of Tottenham. “If you want to be a big team and if you want to fight for the major trophies, it’s impossible if you don’t use all the squad and rotate in England. “Players are not machines. In Spain, France, German and Italy it’s completely different. “I think we need to teach our fans that we need to rotate because it’s so difficult to fight for four competitions.”