Last night, Villarreal achieved something special as they reached the Champions League Semi-Final, thanks to an 88th minute strike against Bayern Munich.
Giovani Lo Celso – who is on loan at Villarreal from Tottenham – shone at the Allianz Arena, as former Arsenal tactician Unai Emery masterminded the win over two legs.
Now, after Emery booked Villarreal a place in the Semi-Final, the Yellow Submarine are more likely to do Antonio Conte a big favour.
What’s the story?
Well, as a result of reaching the Semi-Final, Villarreal have been awarded €12.5m in prize money (Goal).
In our view, that increases the chances of Lo Celso joining Villarreal permanently from Tottenham, which would do Conte a big favour.
The Argentine seems to have no future in north London under the Italian, so it would be best to offload him and spend the money on someone Conte will use.
Villarreal are by no means a wealthy club, so the additional £10.4m could be hugely significant in regards to a permanent deal for Lo Celso.
Villarreal will surely sign Giovani Lo Celso
Villarreal have an option to buy Lo Celso, although there is no fixed fee agreed with Spurs at the moment (The Athletic).
However, if they have the resources, Villarreal will surely sign the 26-year-old, as he has shone in Spain.
Lo Celso was awarded the Man of the Match award in the first leg against Bayern Munich, and followed that up with another fine display last night.
As WhoScored shows, the former Paris Saint-Germain maestro won three freekicks for his side, while also completing two dribbles and one key pass.
Lo Celso has flourished at Villarreal, and after they were awarded £10.4m, the chances of Emery signing him have surely increased.
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