Tottenham Hotspur have made a breakthrough in negotiations for Real Betis midfielder Giovani Lo Celso, according to Football Insider.
The outlet claims that the north London giants have been in talks with the La Liga outfit all summer long for the Argentine international, and are now growing increasingly confident of getting a deal done.
Discussions over the fee and the structure of the payments are now close to being finalised following positive talks over the weekend.
The hope is now that a deal can be done at just over £50million, although Spurs are willing to pay up to £60million and offer Lo Celso £150,000-per-week in wages.
TiF Tacitcs – Is Lo Celso good enough for the Champions League runners up?
This may seem like a bizarre question, but it’s certainly one that needs to be asked whenever a club is preparing to spend £50million or so on anyone. However, with Lo Celso, everything would seem to indicate that he’d be a big success at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
It would be interesting to see where Mauricio Pochettino would play the 23-year-old, because he has the ability to play in a few different positions. He can operate in central midfield, at the number ten position and as an unorthodox frontman.
The statistics, though, would appear to suggest that the Argentine is better utilised further forward, where speculation will be rife that he could be a replacement for Christian Eriksen.
As per WhoScored.com, he beat out Spurs midfielders Dele Alli, Harry Winks and Moussa Sissoko in the majority of the offensive statistical categories. He scored the most goals – even more than a so-called goalscoring midfielder in Alli – and was way ahead in his shots per game average.
He is also a far more prolific dribbler than the other three men, which leads to him being fouled more than the others, as well. Clearly he is someone who offers something very different to what the club already have.
Who is he?
Lo Celso is a product of Rosario Central, a club from the area of Argentina that unearthed the likes of Marcelo Bielsa and Lionel Messi. He actually spent three and a half years with French heavyweights Paris Saint-Germain earlier in his career, but was never really given the opportunity to make a breakthrough in Ligue 1.
However, since joining Betis, initially on loan, last summer, the young midfielder has gone from strength to strength over in Spain.