Tottenham Hotspur misfit Giovani Lo Celso would be a terrific addition to Fiorentina’s Serie A squad, former Premier League director Gianluca Nani tells Firenze Viola.
Antonio Conte’s rather ruthless discarding of Lo Celso – and a number of other fringe players – will have come as no real surprise to anyone au fait with the Italian’s sometimes brutal approach to man management. Did anyone say Diego Costa?
Argentine international Lo Celso was left out of Spurs’ pre-season trip to East Asia this summer, alongside the similarly out-of-favour Tanguy Ndombele, Sergio Reguilon and Harry Winks.
A return to Villarreal appears to be off the cards for, however. The club’s CEO has already indicated that the finances involved make a permanent deal for Lo Celso ‘very difficult’.
Tottenham have also turned down a loan bid from Fiorentina, according to reports in Italy, with the London giants holding out for £21 million (AS).
Will Giovani Lo Celso leave Spurs for Fiorentina?
“Lo Celso has great quality,” says Nani, an experienced Italian director with West Ham, Watford and Reading on his CV.
“He can play even further (in the attack). It depends on how (Fiorentina coach Vincenzo) Italiano wants to use him, if the rumors I hear are true.
“If Fiorentina bet on him, I think it would be a well-considered and correct choice. He is out of Tottenham’s plans. If Viola does (make a move), they will make a big signing, and then the tactical decisions are up to the coaches.”
Lo Celso arguably played the best football of his Tottenham career before he officially became a Tottenham player. The former PSG youngster certainly looked the part during his early days as a loanee under Jose Mourinho. But that form dried up once Spurs invested £55 million to secure his signature on a permanent basis.
“It is a very complicated operation,” Villarreal CEO Fernando Roig Negueroles told AS in June.
“They spent a lot of money on the player. Without sales and with the team we have, we are not in a position to carry out this operation.
“He is a great player who has been very happy here and we have been very happy with him. But he is a Tottenham player. It is true that we would like him to be able to stay here but it’s very complicated.”
“We’ve not sat down with them to talk about anything for now. We know that the player is open to staying, but we cannot sit down to talk about an operation like this without having exits.”
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