South American football expert Tim Vickery – who features on BBC 5Live – believes that Giovani Lo Celso would have fared better with Mauricio Pochettino in charge of Tottenham Hotspur.
The Argentine coach was sacked just three months after his compatriot was brought to the club in 2019.
Lo Celso arrived on deadline day that summer, and after Pochettino was relieved of his duties, he seemed to prosper under Jose Mourinho.
However, he became surplus to requirements under Antonio Conte and returned to Villarreal at the beginning of the campaign for a season-long loan having spent the second half of the last term with the Yellow Submarine.
However, Vickery feels that things could have played out differently for the 26-year-old..
He told GIVEMESPORT:
“I think a number of things went wrong for him at Tottenham. It was one of those deals where Tottenham were playing poker and didn’t buy him until the last day of the window.
“Had they had him all through pre-season it would have been so much easier for him to bed in and then Pochettino goes, and I think he would have worked better with Pochettino than with any of the subsequent models.”
TIF Thoughts on Lo Celso and Tottenham…
Does Lo Celso deserve another chance at Spurs?Yes
No
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Prior to his return to La Liga, the playmaker played 84 times for Spurs but managed just eight goals and six assists with his minutes limited.
A run in the side perhaps would have benefited £70k-per-week ace but injuries didn’t help with him consistently hampered by fitness issues.
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With Conte in charge, it is clear that Lo Celso doesn’t have a future in north London having been banished from first-team training by the Italian in the summer.
Considering he has only been involved in one goal in 13 appearances with Villarreal he isn’t exactly making himself known to the manager and it looks like his forgettable period with the Lilywhites is coming to an end.