Pochettino ‘determined’ to get Tottenham signing done – Largely out of his hands

One player who seems destined for a big money move this summer is Real Betis midfielder Giovani Lo Celso.

The Argentine joined the La Liga club on loan last summer after struggling for game time in Paris, and quickly hit the ground running.

His debut season in Spain saw him hit 16 goals, as well as six assists, in 46 games, and earn himself a permanent €22m move to Betis this year. It also earned him plenty of admirers from around Europe.

Real Madrid and Manchester United are two such sides, but none are keener than Tottenham Hotspur, reports Estadio Deportivo.

Spurs are looking to invest in their squad this summer, and Lo Celso is the kind of player they need. Indeed, the newspaper reports Mauricio Pochettino is ‘determined’ to get the former PSG man.

A problem, though, is his asking price. Betis know of the interest in their man and won’t sell him for cheap. While they know keeping him is near on impossible, they want €75m for the 23-year-old and will not listen to anything underneath that price. They are also refusing any deals involving players in exchange.

Tottenham are said to be well aware of their demands but are struggling to match them at present. They have money to spend after the completion of White Hart Lane and their run to the Champions League final, but not that much.

For their part, they would need to sell Christian Eriksen, preferably to Real Madrid, and could use some of the funds to finance ‘a large part’ of the deal.

Estadio report that a move is on hold for the time being anyway, with the Argentine refusing to talk about a move until he’s finished at the Copa America this summer.

That, apparently, has left some at Tottenham hoping Argentina suffer a swift exit so they can get a deal done ahead of the competition. Until then, this feels like a deal that needs the transfer merry go round to start spinning before it gets underway.