Tottenham Hotspur are close to agreeing a deal with Real Betis for Giovanni Lo Celso with the Premier League giants also securing first-refusal over rising midfield star Johnny Cardoso.
- Exclusive from Graeme Bailey
As the minutes tick away and Friday’s 11pm deadline looms into view, Tottenham Hotspur appear to have struck an agreement which not only removes a perennial benchwarmer from Ange Postecoglou’s squad, it also lays the foundations for one of La Liga’s best young talents to end up in North London later down the line.
Real Betis are in the market for an attacking midfielder with Nabil Fekir set to join Al-Jazira in the United Arab Emirates.
There has been links with former Spurs and now-Manchester United playmaker Christian Eriksen.
HITC, however, understands that Betis fan favourite Gio Lo Celso is the most likely arrival at this stage, with talks between Tottenham and the Andalusian outfit now at an advanced stage.
Johnny Cardoso included in Tottenham’s Gio Lo Celso deal
Lo Celso joined the London giants back in 2019 after a superb spell at Real Betis. He scored a career-best 16 goals during his one and only season in the green and white shirt.
And while Betis played down a potential return to the Estadio Benito Villamarin for Lo Celso earlier in the window, HITC have been told that their stance has now changed. Betis are progressing with talks over a deal that will see Lo Celso head back home for less than £8.5 million, although Spurs will include a sell-on clause in his contract.
Lo Celso has just one year left on his Tottenham deal, which goes some way to explaining why the fee is so small. Another factor is the inclusion of Johnny Cardoso in the arrangement.
Sources have told HITC that Tottenham are about to secure first-refusal over the 22-year-old USA international. The New Jersey-born Cardoso only moved to Spain in January from Internacional in Brazil.
That £4.8 million investment has proven to be fabulous value for money, with Cardoso going from strength to strength under ex-Manchester City, West Ham United and Villarreal coach Manuel Pellegrini.
Betis will be due a major profit too if Tottenham opt to take up their Cardoso option. MLS reporter Tom Bogert claims that the fee is likely to be £25 million.
Ange Postecoglou happy with an excellent window
A fine passer of the ball, Cardoso also produced some of the best ball-winning statistics of any La Liga midfielder in the second half of last season. Therefore, he could potentially be viewed at Spurs as a long-term Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg replacement following the Dane’s initial loan switch to Marseille.
Postecoglou, meanwhile, feels his squad is a lot more suited to his free-flowing brand of football these days, following the arrivals of Dominic Solanke, Lucas Bergvall, Wilson Odobert and £35 million teenage extraordinaire Archie Gray.
“I think it’s been another positive window,” the former Celtic boss tells The Standard ahead of this weekend’s trip to Newcastle United. “You want to go into every window and come out the other side of it in a stronger sense and I certainly feel that.
“The players we’ve brought in are already making a short-term impact and even in the longer term, I think they’re going to be really good contributors for us.
“I certainly think we’ve got a more well-rounded squad to deal with Europe, the extra games and whatever injuries we have. So yeah, I think it’s been a real positive window.
“I’m very happy. We’ve done a hell of a lot of work in 12 months, three windows. No doubts the squad’s changed.
“The demographic of the squad has changed, the suitability to the football I want to play, we’re much better equipped for that. There’s growth in the team, absolutely.
“We needed to do some fairly major work 12 months ago and since then we’ve gone a long way to getting the team to where we want to.”
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