Former Arsenal manager Unai Emery has made Giovani Lo Celso his number one priority this summer, with Villarreal eager to sign the Tottenham midfielder.
According to El Periodico Mediterraneo, the Spanish coach is keen to bring the midfielder back to Villarreal after Lo Celso impressed for the La Liga side in a six-month loan spell, with the former Real Betis star since returning to Tottenham and not being selected by Antonio Conte for their pre-season tour of South Korea.
The decision was reportedly made to push Lo Celso out of the door, with Tanguy Ndombele, Sergio Reguilon and Harry Winks also being left out by Tottenham for pre-season, and now, Villarreal are looking to pounce for the Spurs midfielder.
Signed for a reported £55m, Daniel Levy will no doubt be looking to get as much value as possible from the South American midfielder this summer. But with Villarreal eager to bring Lo Celso back on a permanent deal, Tottenham might have to be content with whatever figure the Spanish side put up to sign the 26-year-old.
Indeed, Tottenham have been one of the busiest sides in the market this summer, with Conte making five signings already and one or two more names likely to come in before the start of the season. However, selling players is proving to be a challenge.
Whilst Steven Bergwijn has been sold to Ajax, the likes of Lo Celso are proving difficult to offload, though Villarreal’s strong interest to sign the midfielder could provide Tottenham with an opportunity to sell the Argentine in the coming weeks.
Villarreal must do all they can to sign Lo Celso this summer
Lo Celso proved last season that the midfielder has the potential to become a world-beater if he is playing under the right manager in the correct system, and Emery and Villarreal provided that both last season, which is why the La Liga side have to sign the midfielder.
The former Arsenal boss got the perfect tune out of the Tottenham outcast in their brief spell together, and Villarreal could financially afford to bring Lo Celso back to the club for good if Spurs are willing to take the hit to allow the transfer to happen.
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