On Friday, Tottenham Hotspur confirmed that they have reached an agreement with Real Betis for the transfer of Giovani Lo Celso.
Real Betis president Ángel Haro García had a chat with the local reporters, relayed by Diario de Sevilla. He revealed the 28-year-old could arrive in Spain today, to complete the transfer from Tottenham to the La Liga side.
The Argentina international will carry out the medical tests with Real Betis in the next few hours. He will then join the national team for the upcoming international break.
“Yes, the idea is that he will probably travel tomorrow [Saturday], although he also has a commitment with the national team, he will have to leave again with his national team, but well, we can enjoy a bit of time,” he said.
The La Liga side were in the market for a new midfielder, after Nabil Fekir decided to leave them from UAE based side Al Jazira. The president claims his side had a “great challenge” to replace the Frenchman.
Real Betis identified Lo Celso and Real Madrid’s Dani Ceballos as the main targets, before deciding to bet on the South American.
When the reporters quizzed the president whether the former Arsenal man was on an option, he revealed why his side decided to sign Lo Celso.
“Well, we had two or three top options open, for us these options were the ones you are talking about as a very good option, and then we finally opted for Gio,” Ángel Haro García explained.
“Well, they are options that open, each market has its particularity, in this case it seemed that a window was opening, but as I said, we also had another window and other open players.”
“I would like to talk about the players we have, the issue of Dani could have been a possibility, but I am very satisfied with Gio, a great player, we already know him at the club and we have to focus on giving him love and he surely gives us great joy.”
Spurs initially took Lo Celso on loan from Real Betis in 2019 and made his stay permanent in January 2020. The midfielder scored 10 goals and registered eight assists from 108 games for Tottenham.