Aston Villa transfers: Emery ‘betrays’ former club with ‘offer’ for ex-Spurs defender

Unai Emery wants to ‘betray’ former club Villarreal by signing ex-Tottenham Hotspur defender Juan Foyth, according to reports in Spain.

Emery brought Foyth to Villarreal from Tottenham for around £11million in July 2021.

The Argentine made 74 appearances under the ex-Arsenal head coach and was in the team that reached the semi-final of the Champions League in 2022, losing out to Liverpool 5-2 on aggregate.

Rated for his versatility, Foyth is capable of playing anywhere in defence and also as a defensive midfielder.

He failed to impress during his four years at Spurs but might earn a second bite at the Premier League cherry.

That is because Emery is keen to reunite with the 27-year-old, according to reports in Spain.

Indeed, it is claimed that Emery is willing to ‘betray’ Villarreal by taking Foyth before the January transfer window closes.

👉 READ MORE: Premier League five-year net spend table: Man City above Liverpool; Man Utd second

The Spaniard is ‘determined’ to sign Foyth, whose ‘hours are numbered’ at the La Liga club following an ‘offer’ from Aston Villa.

The club’s hierarchy are currently ‘evaluating’ the Villans’ bid, with the Argentine eager for an agreement to be reached to ‘close his signing as soon as possible’.

Despite the player’s desperation to play Champions League football at Villa Park, the ‘operation seems complicated’ due to Foyth’s injury problems.

It is not clear how much Villa have offered Villarreal but the report says the latter ‘do not rule out accepting the offer’ as it is ‘close to their economic demands’.

MORE ON ASTON VILLA FROM F365
👉 Graham Potter has made West Ham unrecognisable already as soft lads become fighters
👉 The 20 biggest transfers in the world in the 2025 January transfer window

Foyth’s future could be decided ‘in the next few hours’, with Villarreal presented a ‘an economic opportunity that cannot be refused’, but also reluctant to lose a ‘key player’ mid-season.

Emery discussed incoming transfers on Sunday and was asked specifically about Foyth, confirming that he wants to sign him. He also defended Villa’s decision to sell centre-back Diego Carlos to Fenerbahce.

“Monchi (sporting director) and the club are looking at different players, the profile,” he said.

“Of course I know Juan Foyth because I worked with him. He is one player, with his quality, he can unite and play with the qualities and the performance we want to add in the squad.

“We’re doing everything we can and we have to control everything that’s in our hands.

“This transfer window is not easy, we did not want him to leave but he decided to leave because he accepted an offer from Turkey and we’re trying to get one centre-back to replace him.

“But there are still days to decide how we can do it.

“We are trying to be intelligent and make the better decisions transfer window.

“It’s not easy to change some players in this window. We did with Jaden [Philogene] and [Donyell] Malen and with Kosta [Nedeljkovic] – he is close to leaving – and a centre-back we didn’t do because we are now involved in it.

“If we can then add some players to improve the squad we have to do it, but how we are performing, we’re in the right way.”

👉 READ NOW: Robbie Savage’s Winners & Losers: Tottenham need a change…