‘He didn’t run’… Jermain Defoe says £9m midfielder was way too lazy when he was at Tottenham

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Etienne Capoue has made quite the career for himself since leaving Tottenham.

The French midfielder wasn’t necessarily the most notable player during his time in the Premier League, but he’s since become a mainstay in a Villarreal team that has been very successful in recent years.

He’s played in a Europa League final and a Champions League semi-final for The Yellow Submarine, and according to Troy Deeney, speaking on the Football Firsts Podcast, he’s always had that potential.

Deeney recounted how Capoue stunned staff at Watford during his medical with The Hornets, but Jermain Defoe was very shocked by this, claiming that he barely broke a sweat during his time at Tottenham, claiming that he must’ve been playing with the handbrake on.

Capoue didn’t run at Tottenham

Defoe shared his verdict on the £9m midfielder

“When Capoue signed from Tottenham, they put him on that heart thing and the VO2 thing, he almost completed it, he was an animal,” Deeney said

“What? What? He didn’t run at Tottenham, he had the handbrake on, he must’ve been chilling because I never saw that,” Defoe said.

“If he wanted to, he could’ve been a top player,” Deeney concluded.

Strange

Capoue is a really strange player to reminisce about.

We’ve seen at Villarreal that he’s a quality player, and he also showed signs of being very good at Watford, but it really didn’t click for him at Tottenham, did it?

To be fair, those first few years of adjusting to English football can be hard for any player, but the fact that Deeney speaks of him in this manner just goes to show he could’ve achieved so much more at Spurs.

By all accounts, Capoue was a brilliant player who just didn’t fulfil his potential during his time at Tottenham.