On deadline day, Real Betis agreed a deal with Tottenham Hotspur to sign Giovani Lo Celso on a permanent transfer.
The midfielder didn’t have a key role at Tottenham under Ange Postecoglou last season. The Spurs manager had left him out of his plans for this season, forcing the 28-year-old to find a new club.
Lo Celso returned to Real Betis, where he spent one season, before joining Tottenham in 2019. He had his best season of his career at the La Liga side, managing 16 goals and six assist during the 2018/19 season.
On Wednesday, the former Spurs man scored a brace in Real Betis’ 2-1 win over Getafe. Mundo Deportivo claim ‘Lo Celso reigns again at the Benito Villamarín’, a place where he impressed during his first spell.
“The day I returned to Seville it seemed as if time had not passed. I’m very happy to be here, from the first day I arrived they gave me that feeling. I’m very grateful to the people for the affection and love from the day I left until the day I returned,” he told Movistar, relayed by Mundo Deportivo.
Real Betis decided to bet on Lo Celso, after selling Nabil Fekir to Al-Jazira Club late in the window. Manuel Pellegrini has insisted it was vital for his side to replace the Frenchman with the South American.
“When Fekir left, I said we needed a player of quality, talent and hierarchy. Lo Celso’s arrival was essential and that is what we put forward to the board,” Pellegrini explained, as quoted by Diario de Sevilla.
