Tottenham’s move for Giovani Lo Celso has been put on the back burner, according to Sky Sports.
The problem is the fee. The Real Betis midfielder has a release clause of £88million but his club would reportedly accept close to £70million.
However, Tottenham aren’t willing to pay that much yet, although if Christian Eriksen is sold they may well rekindle the deal.
Lo Celso scored 16 goals for Real Betis last season, registering six assists.
VERDICT
After splashing the cash on Tanguy Ndombele, it looks like normal service is being resumed at Tottenham with Daniel Levy refusing to open his wallet again. It makes sense but surely Eriksen has to go this summer, though? He has already said that he wants a new challenge and it doesn’t look like he’s going to sign a new contract. If they can sell him for £70m and get Lo Celso on a long-term deal for the same amount it would be good business. The two players are very similar in outlook, with Lo Celso rating at 14.03 forward passes per 90 (76.5% accuracy) compared to 15.67 (66.5%) for Eriksen [wyscout.com]. It’s unusual for a Tottenham player to run his contract out – Alderweireld’s case is a little different – and Levy won’t want to lose Eriksen for nothing next summer. However, Tottenham haven’t been inundated with offers for him and Real Madrid are reportedly looking at Paul Pogba. According to the Metro, Tottenham would take £62.5million for Eriksen now and that may well drop later in the summer. It’s still a lot of money for a player who could negotiate a pre-contract deal on a free transfer as early as January.