Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed the departure of midfielder Giovani Lo Celso. The Argentinian will return to his former club Real Betis on a permanent transfer. It is understood that Lo Celso is part of a larger ‘unusual’ deal involving the future of Jhonny Cardoso.
Giovani Lo Celso Leaves Tottenham Hotspur
Lo Celso Returns to Betis
Spurs bade Lo Celso farewell, taking to X to wish him good luck. The attacking midfielder made over 108 appearances for the Lilywhites, scoring 10 goals.
He initially joined the club on loan in August 2019 from Real Betis but was hampered by injury. However, still did enough to impress under Jose Mourinho, who praised him for his “incredible evolution” during his tenure. Lo Celso became a key part of the squad and warranted Spurs signing him permanently in January 2020.
Since then Lo Celso drifted in and out of the first team along with the succession of managers that followed Mourinho’s departure. For the past two seasons, he has plied his trade at Villareal on loan, making 38 La Liga appearances, scoring three goals.
Ange Postecoglou gave a rather indifferent remark when questioned about Lo Celso and Sergio Reguilon’s future at Spurs. He said: “No, they don’t have to get integrated back to the squad. It’s their decisions. It’s pretty clear where they sit in terms of where we are as a squad and where we are as a team, but, you know, I’ve never been one to force people out.”
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Spurs’ Cardoso Lo Celso Deal
Despite having signed Lo Celso in a deal worth £27.2m, Spurs will be letting him for just £8.4 million (€10 million Euros) plus add-ons and a sell on clause. This is partly because the player was in his final year of contract. But more importantly, Tottenham have agreed on the future of a Real Betis player as part of the deal.
Fabrizio Romano reports that as part of the Lo Celso deal, Spurs get priority to sign Jhonny Cardoso in the future. The player has also agreed to this. Another quirk of the deal is that if Spurs do not decide to buy him, they will instead be able to reap the profits with a sell-on clause.
Alasdair Gold, Tottenham correspondent for football . london has described this as an ‘unusual deal’, he writes: “There’s something very Tottenham Hotspur-like even with a potential unusual deal on transfer deadline day that does not involve them actually signing a player but instead suggesting they might possibly, potentially, perhaps one day.”
While this may bring some amusement and sarcasm from Spurs fans, this is another example of the way that the club manages to complete deals and strengthen their future squad without having the vast reserves of wealth that their rivals have.