Giovani Lo Celso a Special Player inc VIDEO

Tottenham Hotspur are reported to be negotiating with Real Betis, where Rafael van der Vaart spent some time to fulfill his Dad's dream, for the purchase of Argentinian Giovani Lo Celso.

The 23-year-old (24 next April) is a central midfielder, but AS say he played almost as a striker this season and adapted very well, which, they suggest signing him would enable Christian Eriksen to leave for Real Madrid.

In 45 matches with Real Betis, Lo Celso scored 16 goals (9 in LaLiga,5 in Europa League, 2 in Copa del Rey) and had a further 6 assists (5 in LaLiga, 1 in Europa League).

He has an Italian passport, as so many South Americans do when they come to Europe and is under contract until 2021 with PSG, from where he is on loan at the Spanish club with a contract until 2023. 

There is a compulsory purchase element written into the deal. Real Betis purchase him at the end of his loan spell on July 1st, 2019 for £19.39 million (€22m) in addition to the £2.64 million (€3m) they have already paid. 

PSG also get 20% of any profit obtained from any sale of the player, so 20% of anything over £22.03 million (€25m). There is an £88.14 million (€100m) release clause in his contract. Release clauses in Spain are a means to ensure a player can not leave on the cheap and when a player gets a pay rise an increase in the release clause is added. A player has to pay the release clause himself, so a buying club have to give the money to the player to pay, which just adds to the agent's fees).

Spanish sports newspaper AS and Dario de Sevilla (Real Betis play in Sevilla, the capital of Southern Spain in the Andalucia region) writes that Spurs have had an offer rejected already, although they don't say how much that is.

The speculation they make are that we are prepared to pay £52.88 million (€60m) for his signature. Deduct £22.03 million, deduct 20% of the additional fee which is £6.17 million (would go to PSG) and that leaves an additional £24.68 million (€28m) for Real Betis to buy a replacement.

Had Real Betis qualified for Europe he may well have stayed at the club, he has been very happy there, but with no European football and offer from the Champions League finalists may be one he finds hard to turn down.

Born in Rosario, Argentina, he came through the ranks at Rosario Central, made his professional debut in July 2015 and excelled in the Argentine Primera Division. He was followed by the giants of European football and snapped up by PSG a year after his debut, although he stayed on loan for another season in Argentina.

He is technically gifted, can play central or attacking midfield or as a second striker and has a sweet left foot, He has great vision and passing range and was capped by Argentina in November 2017. He was in their squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia but didn't play. He also played three times at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Juan Lo Celso, his father told Le Parisien when he signed for PSG that it was helpful the club had Argentinians and that he was more likely to play, thus being able to prove himself, moving there than joining Roma and sitting on the bench or being loaned out.

Argentinian journalists talk about him and have him marked down as a special talent. He has guile and intelligence, he lifts the ball over legs of defenders drawing fouls. He isn't afraid to play through balls, vital for a playmaker, they cut defences for others to run onto and are ideal for our style.

Apart from these important through balls, he has the skill to chip the ball over defenders too, which are a nightmare to defend against and can play long balls accurately when needed.

He works hard and is constantly moving into areas where he can receive the ball and influence play, again vital for a playmaker. It shows how well he can read a game, even at his young age.

Defencively he is not lacking either. He works hard when in defence, important for a playmaker in our system again. he has the stamina to get back and defend and is good in the tackle.

I think Spurs fans will be excited when they see him and the Argentinian connection and contingent Spurs have will help him settle quickly, plus experience of two different European leagues, he played a full season for PSG.

His weakness is his right side, but no doubt that will be ironed out over time. Lo Celso has pace, which will only help our counter attacks and he has the ability to create something out of nothing too.

From what I have seen he is a world class talent in the making and I believe he will be a huge hit at Spurs.

Watch this video and you'll see he has a Messi style about him.

Further Reading
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