Tottenham demand £17m transfer fee for Giovani Lo Celso with Villarreal interested in making loan deal permanent
GIOVANI LO CELSO could be set to make his Villarreal switch from Tottenham permanent this summer, according to reports.
Lo Celso has impressed while on loan in Spain, and Unai Emery would like to bring the midfielder to the club on a permanent basis.
Tottenham brought the Argentine in January 2020 for £45million – converting his loan deal from Real Betis into a permanent transfer.
However, according to Fabrizio Romano Spurs are prepared to take a £28million loss on him to shift him out of the club in deal worth just £17million.
The 26-year-old found his transition to the Premier League difficult, with a high turnover of managers at the club certainly not helping him to settle and cement a place in the North London sides team.
In 22 appearances for Villarreal this season, he has scored and assisted just once, but his overall contribution asides from goals and assists have been main worth to Emery’s team.
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Similarly, Lo Celso had only scored and assisted once for Spurs this season before Antonio Conte sanctioned a loan move to the Yellow Submarine for him.
In Lo Celso’s absence Spurs went on to claim a spot in the top four, thanks in large part to an emphatic 3-0 victory over Arsenal.
Meanwhile, Villarreal managed to rock the apple cart by defeating European heavyweights Bayern Munich and making it to the semi-finals of the Champions League against Liverpool.
Emery’s side produced a stellar opening 45 minutes in the second leg at Anfield, giving them hope that they could take a 3-2 aggregate lead in the final 45 minutes of the two legs.
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But it wasn’t to be as Liverpool showed their quality to earn a spot in their third final in five years against Real Madrid.
Overall Lo Celso has made 84 appearances for Spurs, scoring eight goals and registering six assists.