CaughtOffside

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Giovani Lo Celso reportedly wants to leave the North London club before the summer transfer window closes.

Ange Postecoglou’s side are preparing for their opening contest of the new Premier League season as they face newly promoted Leicester City on Monday night.

Spurs fans will be quietly confident about the upcoming campaign after the arrival of Archie Gray and Dominic Solanke over the past few weeks who can hopefully plug some holes in their squad.

But the Australian manager has also opted to get some names off the books with several players departing the club with Oliver Skipp looking set to join Leicester City.

According to Fabrizio Romano on the Daily Briefing, there is another midfielder who wants to leave the club, Lo Celso, with the Argentine international struggling to garner any meaningful minutes over the past season.

“Aston Villa and Real Betis are interested but there could be more clubs, it’s an open situation with these two clubs leading the race,” he said on the Daily Briefing.

“But it’s really open and there could be surprises. For sure, Lo Celso wants to leave Tottenham and his plan is clear.”

The 28-year-old joined the club from Real Betis in 2019 and has spent several seasons on loan back in La Liga after struggling to find his form in England.

Tottenham Hotspur are keen on signing the AS Monaco defender Vanderson.

The 23-year-old Brazilian right-back has been linked with a move away from Ligue 1 and Tottenham are prepared to provide him with an exit route. The North London club recently sanctioned the departure of Emerson Royal and they are looking at potential replacements.

Vanderson has been quite impressive for Monaco and his performances have caught the attention of the North London outfit. According to journalist Bruno Andrade, Spurs are now preparing an offer of around £27 million for the Brazilian defender and talks are already underway with the French club regarding a potential move.

It will be interesting to see if Tottenham can secure an agreement with the Ligue 1 outfit.

Vanderson would be a quality addition

Vanderson has shown his quality in the French league and he has the technical attributes to succeed in English as well. He could compete with Pedro Porro for the starting spot at Tottenham. The opportunity to move to England will be quite attractive for the player as well. The 23-year-old will want to compete at the highest level and take on new challenges. Tottenham could provide him with the opportunity he needs.

Meanwhile, Tottenham need to add more quality and depth to their squad this summer. They will be competing in the UEFA Europa League and Ange Postecoglou will need to rotate his squad to keep them fresh. Signing players like Vanderson would give him the option to shuffle his pack from time to time.

Spurs have a talented squad at their disposal, but they need more depth if they want to do well across multiple competitions. The Brazilian will add quality and depth to the side and it remains to be seen whether he can hit the ground running in English football if the transfer goes through.

Liverpool have been linked with a move for the Norwegian youth international Jens Hjerto-Dahl.

The 18-year-old midfielder has impressed with Tromso and HITC claims that his performances have caught the attention of Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa as well.

Hjerto-Dahl can operate as a central midfielder as well as a defensive midfielder. He could be the ideal long-term acquisition for Liverpool who are in need of midfield reinforcements. Wataru Endo is the only defensive midfielder at the club and the Tromso prospect would be his long-term replacement.

A move to Liverpool could be an exciting opportunity for the young midfielder. He will look to continue his development with ample first-team action at the Premier League club and Liverpool have a proven track record when it comes to nurturing young players like him.

Liverpool will be hoping to challenge for league titles in the upcoming seasons and they need a quality squad at their disposal. They will need adequate depth in every position and signing a talented, young defensive midfielder could prove to be a wise decision.

Tottenham and Aston Villa want Jens Hjerto-Dahl

Meanwhile, Tottenham need more quality and depth in the midfield as well. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg left for Marseille earlier this summer and Hjerto-Dahl could replace him in the side. At Aston Villa, he could fill the void left by Douglas Luiz.

All three clubs have the financial muscle to get the deal done, and it will be interesting to see if they decide to follow up on their interest with an official proposal to sign the midfielder this summer.

The 18-year-old will be tempted to join a big club this summer, but he needs to choose his next destination carefully. He should look to seek gametime assurance as before choosing his next club. It will be interesting to see where he ends up.

Aston Villa have been one of the busiest Premier League teams throughout the summer transfer window.

The Villains have signed eight first team players with Amadou Onana topping the list after the Belgian joined from Everton for a reported £50 million fee earlier in the window.

However, despite splashing out well over £100 million on talent already, the team from the Midlands, according to Fichajes, are on the hunt for one more addition, and have identified Spurs’ Giovani Lo Celso as a player capable of ‘perfectly fitting’ into Unai Emery’s system.

Aston Villa in three-way race to sign Giovani Lo Celso

Emery knows the Argentine well from their time together at both Villarreal and PSG and is keen to be reunited with him for a third time at Villa Park.

Lo Celso, 28, has just one year left on his contract with Spurs and is thought to be available for transfer should the Lilywhites’ £13 million asking price be met.

And although Roma and Real Betis are also tracking the South American, the lure of Champions League football under Emery could be too tempting to turn down, and that fact alone makes the Villains strong contenders to seal the 28-year-old’s signature.

During his time at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Lo Celso, who has represented Argentina on 57 occasions, has directly contributed to 18 goals in 108 games in all competitions.

Chris Sutton has dismissed talk of Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou needing a strong start to the new season as ‘nonsense’.

Postecoglou guided Spurs to fifth in the Premier League during his first season in charge, while having to cope with the departure of talismanic striker Harry Kane to Bayern Munich.

However, despite getting the club back into Europe and making them easy on the eye, there was an air of disappointment that Tottenham didn’t qualify for the Champions League — thanks largely to a run of five defeats in their last seven games, allowing Aston Villa to seal fourth place.

With that in mind, there have been suggestions that Postecoglou must make a strong start to the 2024/25 campaign, which could prove difficult as the Lilywhites face Newcastle United, Arsenal and Manchester United all within their first six matches.

But former Chelsea, Blackburn and Celtic striker Sutton doesn’t buy into this ‘nonsense’ way of thinking, branding criticism of Postecoglou as ‘deeply unfair’.

“I am hearing a lot of nonsense about Tottenham and how their manager Ange Postecoglou ‘needs a good start’ to the new campaign. I don’t understand why he is under pressure now at the start of his second season,” Sutton wrote in his BBC Sport predictions column, in which he tipped Spurs to beat Leicester City 3-1 on the opening weekend.

“The Spurs fans were bored and fed up every weekend under Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, but they were entertained last season and almost made the top four too – all without Harry Kane.

“Nobody can argue that Ange did not make progress, so why is he being questioned? It feels like people are waiting for him to fail, and I think that is deeply unfair.

“I don’t think it will bother Postecoglou, though. He will just plough through it. He has managed for a long time and has had huge success.

“I am expecting Spurs to have another good season under him, especially now they have signed Solanke, which looks like an astute bit of business.”

Former Tottenham Hotspur striker Darren Bent has backed Dominic Solanke to smash the 20-goal barrier in the Premier League this season.

Spurs completed the £55m signing of Solanke from Bournemouth at the weekend in a move that should finally replace Harry Kane, who left for Bayern Munich last summer.

Solanke caught the eye with 21 goals across all competitions last season, including 19 in 38 Premier League appearances.

However, that remains the 26-year-old’s best top-flight return to date, with Solanke only managed 10 goals in his previous 96 Premier League outings prior to 2023/24 for Bournemouth and Liverpool combined.

With that in mind, there may well be worries that last season was a one-off for Solanke, whose only previous seasons breaking double figures (2020/21 and 2021/22) both came in the Championship.

Solanke to break 20-goal barrier in Premier League?

Bent has no such concerns. In fact, the former Tottenham striker — who was a part of the club’s 2008 EFL Cup-winning side — has backed Solanke to break the 20-goal mark in the Premier League alone.

“Dominic Solanke has never hit 20 in the Premier League goals in a season,” Bent told talkSPORT, adding: “For Solanke, 19 goals last season, he’s now ready for that big club.

“He had a little stint at Chelsea when he was young, he went to Liverpool and it didn’t quite happen, but at Spurs, I reckon he will score 20+ goals this season.

“If he can get a first goal early in the season it will give him so much confidence. It just settles everything down if he can score early.”

Former Tottenham Hotspur striker Darren Bent has backed Arsenal to win the Premier League title this season.

The Gunners have emerged as major challengers to Manchester City under Mikel Arteta, who has guided the club to consecutive second-place finishes — taking the title race to the final day last season.

However, Arsenal remain without a Premier League title since 2003/04 and it’s proving increasingly difficult for any side to dislodge Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering City side, who have won six of the last seven titles, including the last four.

But according to former Tottenham Hotspur striker Darren Bent — who also played for Ipswich, Charlton, Sunderland, Aston Villa, Derby and England during his career, the Gunners are about to end their long drought.

“They’ve not won the league since 2003/04, I think this is their time,” boyhood Arsenal fan Bent, who scored 106 Premier League goals as a striker, told talkSPORT.

“We’ll spread the goals out, I think we’re solid defensively – we’ll find a way to do it.

“Our two centre-halves are incredible, David Raya is a permanent signing so after being close two years on the bounce, I believe this is their time.

“If City are to have a dip, I think Arsenal will be the next best team to exploit that.”

Bent’s co-host predicts Arteta to be ‘found out’

Bent’s talkSPORT Drive co-host, Andy Goldstein, disagrees considerably.

Goldstein believes City will win the title again, but also made the sensational prediction that both Arsenal and Liverpool will drop out of the reckoning, with Manchester United getting closer to their local rivals.

“I think Manchester City will be up there, Liverpool won’t be, but Manchester United will,” said Goldstein. “I don’t think Arsenal will have a good season, I think they’ll be found out. I don’t think Mikel Arteta is good enough to get them over the line. I really don’t.”

It’s an important season for Ange Postecoglou and Tottenham Hotspur, as their transfer window dealings may evidence.

Stunning moves for Archie Gray and Dominic Solanke has shown the North London club’s intent, as they look to build on what turned out ultimately to be a disappointing 2023/24.

Though the Lilywhites will see European football back at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this season, it’s a certainty that all concerned would’ve preferred that to have been of the Champions League rather than Europa League variety.

Tottenham’s Ben Davies has made an important career decision

In April, Spurs were still in the box seat to do just that, but five defeats in their last seven games – their two wins were against relegated Burnley and Sheffield United – saw Aston Villa snatch fourth place at the North Londoner’s expense.

Ange Postecoglou’s disappointment at the time appeared self-evident, and there’s little doubt the Australian will expect much more from his players this season.

One of those will be Ben Davies, who has made the decision to see out the final 12 months of his contract at the club, per Football Insider.

It was believed that Davies, who has managed a whopping 330 appearances with the club, would move on this summer, but the report details that the coach has no qualms in having the Welshman as a valued squad member.

Davies will have only just turned 32 by the end of the 2024/25 campaign, and surely has another couple of seasons at least at the top level.

Whether Spurs allow him to leave on a free next summer or try to persuade him to stay in January is a moot point at this stage.

Ange Postecoglou hasn’t really been on a spending spree this summer for Tottenham, but the hires of both Archie Gray and Dominic Solanke apparently mean that the North Londoners have to start selling to balance the books.

As with any transfer window, there are always opportunities to do business, and some deals appear to make more sense than others.

Some are signed and sealed at the beginning of a window, and others are rushed through at the 11th hour on deadline day.

Sergio Reguilon wants to leave Tottenham

Where there’s a will, there always seems to be a way, and one Spurs player in particular will be hoping that’s the case.

According to Football Insider sources, left-back Sergio Reguilon is absolutely “desperate” to get out of the club this summer.

That might have something to do with the fact that the Spaniard has barely played for the club over the past few seasons.

At 27 years of age he clearly still has something to offer a potential buying club, and given the Lilywhites own predicament in terms of their financial position, this summer could finally see Reguilon released from his Tottenham hell.

Whether there are any major buyers lined up at the moment is a moot point.

Though Reguilon may be able to pick and choose his next employer too, the likelihood is he’ll go to who Tottenham decide to sell him to.

Were the player to then turn down any move, that would perhaps indicate that he isn’t as desperate to leave the club as has perhaps been made out.

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Giovani Lo Celso has been linked with a move away from the club this summer.

The 28-year-old midfielder has fallen down the pecking order at the North London club and he needs a move away in order to get his career back on track.

According to Football Insider, Real Betis and Aston Villa are keen on signing the Argentine international midfielder. Tottenham are looking to sell the player permanently and they are not keen on sending him out on loan again.

Lo Celso has impressed with Real Betis in the past and it is no surprise that the Spanish club are willing to provide him with an exit route. It will be interesting to see if they can agree on a deal with Tottenham. Meanwhile, he has played under the Aston Villa manager Unai Emery, who was in charge of Villarreal when Lo Celso was on loan at the Spanish club.

Aston Villa could use Lo Celso

The West Midlands club are looking to add more quality and depth to their attacking unit and Lo Celso would be a quality fit. He is capable of slotting into the central attacking midfield role and in the wide areas. He has the flair and the technical attributes to create goal scoring opportunities from multiple areas and he could add a new dimension to the Aston Villa attack.

They will be competing in the UEFA Champions League next season and the need more quality at their disposal. The report from Football Insider claims that Tottenham have reduced their asking price for the player and they are now prepared to sell him for £10 million.

It is a reasonable fee to pay for a quality midfielder who is at the peak of his powers. There is no doubt that the Argentine international would be a bargain at that price. It remains to be seen whether Real Betis and Aston Villa are ready to pay up for him.