Tottenham Hotspur fought so hard to get Giovani Lo Celso from Real Betis in 2019 that a lot was expected of the Argentine when he signed for the club.
During the process of negotiations with the Seville club, Spurs had even made a move for Bruno Fernandes. That effort was confirmed by Sporting’s president, who made it clear he simply wasn’t prepared to give the Premier League club the type of deal Betis agreed to in the end.
Lo Celso hasn’t quite managed to live up to the hype, and in January he was allowed to join Villarreal on loan for the rest of the campaign. At 25-years-of-age there’s plenty of time for the player to get his career back on track, and a future with Tottenham can’t be ruled out given he still has a contract with the club until 2025.
He’s already put together more La Liga minutes than he had in the Premier League this season, but hasn’t completed a full 90 minutes yet. There’s no goals or assists so far, and Lo Celso will be hoping for better in the remaining months of the campaign.
Marca have spoken to Lo Celso ahead of the match, and one of questions was: ‘What options are there for you to continue at Villarreal next season?’
The Tottenham owned player replied: “I try to enjoy the day to day, each training session, each match and, later, football and life will decide what is happening. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I do know that I’m working one hundred percent, that I’m going to give my best and we’ll see what happens in the summer.”
Asked if he’s found what he was looking for at Villarreal, Lo Celso said: “I knew that I was coming to a team that plays colourful football, which is the protagonist and I feel comfortable with that idea. I already knew the coach (Unai Emery) from PSG. I know how he works, what he can ask of a player and how he can make him perform.”
