MAURICIO POCHETTINO is set to hand Juan Foyth his biggest test in English football — and at 6ft 4ins they do not come much bigger than Andy Carroll.
But Tottenham boss Poch is calling on his fellow Argentinean to prove he can play in this country by handling such a tall order as the West Ham striker in their Carabao Cup fourth-round crunch at Wembley. Defender Foyth, 19, has made only one appearance for Spurs since his £8million switch from Estudiantes in August and that was in the 1-0 win at home to Barnsley in the previous round.
But the rookie — known back home as an elegant, ball-playing centre-back — is set to be thrown in again.
Pochettino will rest several stars ahead of their Premier League trip to Manchester United on Saturday lunchtime.
Ex-Argentina defender Poch said: “Will Juan play? Maybe. “Foyth is young but he needs to show why he is here, so he has the possibility to play. You will only know if he is ready if he plays.
“He did that against Barnsley and was very good — so he also has the possibility to play against West Ham.
“Can he cope with Carroll? I think Juan is the same height as Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen and Davinson Sanchez.
“I played when I was 17 or 18 against a massive striker and I’m smaller than Juan. “Come on, you need to show yourself in these situations. He’s now a Tottenham player.
“He needs to fight and prove he can compete in these type of games.”
Pochettino also paid tribute to Michel Vorm after revealing the second-choice keeper will feature against the Hammers in place of captain Hugo Lloris.
He said: “It’s a massive problem for us when a player like Michel doesn’t complain and shows great quality in training.
“This creates more problems than those who complain about not playing when they aren’t even doing their jobs in training. It’s easy to leave them out. “But it’s always difficult with Michel because he is so professional, always fighting and showing his quality all the time.
“It’s very difficult for us to tell him he is not playing. I feel guilty.”
Spurs left-back Danny Rose will make his first start since a knee injury in January — but Harry Kane will be rested.
Midfielder Mousa Dembele is in the squad but forward Erik Lamela is still not quite ready to make his comeback from a hip problem — a year to the day since he last played.
From The Sun
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