Real Betis are unlikely to return for Giovani Lo Celso during the January transfer window as the Argentina international struggles for opportunities at Premier League leaders Tottenham Hotspur.
Ange Postecoglou may have been full of praise for the one-time Paris Saint-Germain playmaker in pre-season – Giovani Lo Celso’s performances during that tour of Australia suggesting that his Tottenham Hotspur career could begin anew – but a paucity of opportunities in the early months of the new campaign are a reminder of how far he still is down the pecking order.
James Maddison has the attacking midfield role nailed down under Postecoglou. Lo Celso arguably lacks the physicality to play in one of the deeper positions in the Aussie’s engine room, or the pace to thrive out wide.
As such, Lo Celso has been limited to just 24 minutes of Premier League football so far, even if a hamstring injury has played a part in his lack of action.
Giovani Lo Celso struggling at Tottenham Hotspur
Rumours surrounding the Argentine’s future are likely to rear their head again, then, as the January window approaches. Though Estadio Deportivo believe that the chances of a return to Real Betis currently look slim at best.
Lo Celso enjoyed the best spell of his career at Betis. He scored 16 goals during an outstanding 2018/19 season, paving the way for an eventual £55 million move to North London.
A second spell at Heliopolis has long since been mooted, but Estadio Deportivo are keen to point out that Betis boss Manuel Pellegrini is hardly lacking in silky playmakers in the Lo Celso mould. Isco, the former Real Madrid creator, has been a man reborn in Andalusia. Ditto Ayoze Perez, once of Newcastle United and Leicester City. Nabil Fekir is also set to return after a spell on the sidelines, making a potential deal for Lo Celso even more unnecessary.
‘More rumours than news’
“I’m not aware that there have been additional movements,” Real Betis president Angel Haro told Estadio Deportivo a few weeks back when quizzed about those Lo Celso links.
“I think (these claims) are more rumours than news.”
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
