Villarreal have appointed Quique Setien and this could be just what Tottenham Hotspur wanted for Giovani Lo Celso’s future.
This time a week ago, Villarreal were probably feeling safe with Unai Emery in charge.
That all changed when Aston Villa sacked Steven Gerrard and made Emery their top choice to replace him.
A deal was done on Monday and Emery has now decided to leave Villarreal after more than two years in the job.
Former Arsenal boss Emery has decided to have another crack at Premier League management and Villarreal have already replaced him.
Villarreal have appointed Quique Setien
Villarreal confirmed on Wednesday that they have now appointed Quique Setien as their new manager until 2024.
The 64-year-old hasn’t been seen in football since leaving Barcelona in 2020 as the humiliating 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich finished him off.
Villarreal are now looking for Setien to work some magic though, just as he did at Real Betis having brought an attractive brand of football there.
This appointment actually appears to be perfect news for Tottenham Hotspur – let us explain.
Tottenham have loaned midfielder Giovani Lo Celso to Villarreal once again, having seen him spend the second half of last season there.
Tottenham didn’t include a purchase option in the deal as they seemingly don’t want to be fixed to one price.
Should Lo Celso impress in Spain, Tottenham want to have control over his value, which is understandable.
That decision may now pay off as Lo Celso joins forces with Setien once again.
Setien coached Lo Celso at Betis and the Argentinian midfielder admitted to Sevilla ABC in 2020 that he learned a lot from Setien.
The numbers look pretty great too; Lo Celso hit 16 goals and six assists in 45 games under Setien, earning himself a big £42million move to Tottenham – £15million for a loan and £27million for the permanent move.
For context, Lo Celso has only manage 18 goals in the 220 games under other managers, so that record under Setien is pretty incredible.
If any manager in the world would want Lo Celso permanently, it may well be Setien and this just works perfectly for Tottenham.
Spurs have no plans for Lo Celso moving forward and would no doubt love to sell in January or at the end of the season.
Setien’s arrival boosts the chances of a sale and Tottenham – in a roundabout way – may end up thanking Villa for appointing Emery.
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