Giovani Lo Celso has swung the door wide open to a summer Tottenham exit after he was interviewed on his thoughts about joining Villarreal permanently.
The Argentine midfielder, 25, initially joined Tottenham on loan during the 2019 summer window. Spurs reportedly held a £34m option to buy which would’ve become an obligation had they finished inside the top four that season. However, Lo Celso did enough in the early going to warrant Spurs making his move permanent six months early. In doing so, a reported £7m saving was made.
However, in the 24 months that followed, Lo Celso struggled to make the type of impact Spurs chiefs thought would be automatic.
As such, the midfielder was loaned out to Villarreal in January and has already played more league minutes for the Yellow Submarine than he did for Spurs in the first five months of the season.
Whether Villarreal or indeed Tottenham wish to make the loan permanent remains unknown at present. However, a recent Lo Celso interview would suggest he would be more than willing to remain in Spain.
Ahead of Villarreal’s Champions League clash with Juventus on Wednesday, Spanish outlet Marca spoke with Lo Celso. The subject of his future was on the agenda, with Lo Celso directly asked about joining Villarreal for good.
Lo Celso refused to outright admit he’d like to leave Spurs. However, he also did not say he’ll return to Spurs amid a series of compliments about Villarreal and manager Unai Emery.
Lo Celso said (via Sport Witness): “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.
“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.”
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Meanwhile, Tottenham have made a ‘formal offer’ to sign Barcelona forward Memphis Depay with a report revealing why a deal would benefit both clubs.
Spanish outlet AS (as cited by Sport Witness), report Depay could leave the Camp Nou after just one season. What’s more, it’s claimed Tottenham have lodged a ‘formal offer’. At present, the proposal has not drawn a clear response from the Spaniards.
The article cites reliable Spanish journalist Gerard Romero. While details on the exact nature of the apparent offer are slim, it’s noted any move would be in the upcoming summer and cost a fee.
The report goes on to detail why Barca would sell. It’s noted the club sense an opportunity to make a quick buck on a star who is no longer a regular starter.
Depay arrived as a free agent from Lyon last summer. However, he has already fallen behind the club’s raft if January additions in the pecking order. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Ferran Torres and Adama Traore all signed in the winter window.
As such, selling a free agent signing for a transfer fee after just 12 months would represent savvy business.
From Tottenham’s perspective, they would be adding another potent attacking threat to their forward ranks. Supplementing the likes of Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Lucas Moura and Dejan Kulusevski with Depay can only be a good thing.
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