Fabrizio Romano says Aston Villa explored a deadline day to sign Tottenham midfielder Giovani Lo Celso, who ended up joining Real Betis in the dying hours of the transfer window.
A return to Betis was mooted as a possibility for Lo Celso all summer and the transfer eventually went through late on Friday.
According to Football.London, the deal is worth £8.4m, with add-ons included and Spurs also getting a sell-on clause for the midfielder.
In addition, Tottenham have also reportedly been handed an option to buy Betis midfielder Johnny Cardoso for £25m next summer as a part of the deal.
All through the summer, it was reported that Villa were the La Liga club’s main competitors for the Argentine’s signature.
Many outlets suggested that Unai Emery, who had previously managed the 28-year-old at Villarreal, and Villa’s director of football operations, Monchi, were keen to take the player to Villa Park (Estadio Deportivo).
It turns out that the Premier League side made one final attempt to land Lo Celso on deadline day but the player rejected the transfer in favour of a return to Benito Villamarin Stadium.
Romano said (via AlbicelesteTalk): “In the last hours, Aston Villa were pushing to get Giovani Lo Celso, but Gio really wanted to return to Real Betis.”
Spurs Web Opinion
One can understand why Lo Celso would have preferred a return to Betis as his priority would have been getting regular starts this season, which he was not guaranteed to do at Villa Park.
The post Premier League club explored a deadline day move for Spurs player – Fabrizio Romano appeared first on The Spurs Web - Tottenham Hotspur Football News.
