Totteham midfielder Giovani Lo Celso remains Villarreal’s ‘number one objective’ for this window, despite them being unable to afford a deal at present.
That’s according to El Periodico Mediterraneo, who say FFP limits and a ‘sensible financial policy’ are limiting the Spaniards at present.
Lo Celso spent the second half of last season on loan at Villarreal, establishing himself as a key player under Unai Emery and a big part of their run to the Champions League semi-finals.
They are keen to keep him, and numerous reports from Spain have made that clear, but the finances involved to sign him from Tottenham are prohibiting that at present.
This has been confirmed by president Fernando Ruig, who is quoted saying as much when asked on the subject.
“He has told us that he wants to stay. We haven’t negotiated because we don’t have any departures.
“We are not in a position to make an offer because we don’t have the capacity right now. We have a big and expensive team.”
According to the newspaper, Villarreal know that Tottenham are willing to sell, and the player may have other offers, but for the time being, any deal is a ‘dream’.
However, the answer may be staring them in the face in the form of defender Pervis Estupiñan.
He is ‘on the market’ after Villarreal moved to renew teammate Alfonso Pedraza with a €50m release clause.
That, coupled with the emergence of talent in the youth team, means the Spanish side can ‘accept any of the possible offers’ they receive.
One of his suitors is Tottenham, who reportedly have the player ‘on their agenda’ as they continue the rebuild under Antonio Conte.
Thus, the obvious solution is to sell Estupiñan to Tottenham and then use that money to partly fund the deal for Lo Celso. Each side wins, particularly in terms of balancing the books, and there’s less negotiating than with a swap deal, which would be another option.
Either way, Tottenham want Estupiñan, and Villarreal want Lo Celso; it shouldn’t be too difficult to work something out.
