Giovani Lo Celso left Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur for a return to La Liga but new Villarreal team-mate Etienne Capoue isn’t getting carried away by the January arrival, speaking to Marca.
That’s not because Capoue is underwhelmed by Villarreal’s marquee signing. It’s just that, as far as the 2020 Europa League winner is concerned, football is a job, a means of a living, rather than a personal passion.
Speaking to The Athletic last year, Capoue admitted that he doesn’t even manage one game of top-level football a year. He didn’t have a favourite team growing up either.
So Lo Celso, a 38-time Argentina international with Spurs, PSG and Real Betis on his CV, will remain something of a mystery as far as Capoue is concerned.
That is, of course, until he starts training with his new club following an official unveiling on Thursday afternoon.
“I’m sorry, because I don’t watch much football and I don’t know anything about him,” says Capoue, who also had a brief spell at Tottenham before blossoming a few miles north at Watford.
“But if Villarreal has signed him, that is because he has a lot of quality. ]
“Surely we’re going to do better things on the pitch with him. He’s been to big clubs and he’s an international.”
Has Giovani Lo Celso played his final game for Tottenham Hotspur?
That is presuming, of course, that Lo Celso can rediscover the form of his debut season at Spurs.
The former Paris Saint-Germain starlet was one of the bright sparks of the early Jose Mourinho era. Bisecting defences at will and stepping into Christian Eriksen’s shoes following the Dane’s mid-season move to Inter Milan.
A series of niggling injuries prevented further progress, however. Lo Celso mustered just one goal and two assists during the first half of the current campaign.
Lo Celso, who set Spurs back a staggering £55 million, joined Villarreal on loan with an option-to-buy on the final day of the January transfer window, following Dele Alli, Bryan Gil and Tanguy Ndombele out the door.
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