Tottenham midfielder deal given Levy thumbs up as long as two conditions are met; Barcelona interest complicates issue
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy
Tottenham are ready to move unwanted midfielder Giovani Lo Celso on – but Daniel Levy has reportedly made clear to the Argentine’s two suitors that two factors must be adhered to if a deal is to go through.
The 27-year-old has been on Spurs’ books since a 2017 move from Real Betis, initially on a season’s loan. However, he has never really settled in north London, having spent two separate spells on loan with Villarreal.
Now back in pre-season with Tottenham, Lo Celso has travelled with the squad on their pre-season tour of Australia. Indeed, he was named on the bench for Tuesday’s friendly against West Ham in Perth.
However, Lo Celso’s long-term future appears to be away from Tottenham. New manager Ange Postecoglou has already brought in James Maddison in a £40m deal from Leicester. And with Lo Celso’s qualities best served in a similar, albeit, slightly deeper role, his time at the club appears to be over.
Indeed, reports in Italy claim Lo Celso is attracting attention from Serie A champions Napoli. And according to il Gazzetta dello Sport, Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis is preparing an approach to bring the 44-times capped international to the Diego Maradona Stadium.
Napoli are in the market to bolster their midfield having recently let Tanguy Ndombele return to Spurs after a season’s loan. And after deciding against making his move permanent, they are turning to Lo Celso to fill the gap.
The good news for De Laurentiis is that Napoli’s initial approaches have been met with a positive response from Levy.
And he has reportedly made clear that a deal is there to be done if two conditions are met.
Levy ready to let Lo Celso leave Tottenham
In an ideal world, Levy would like to permanently offload the midfielder. And having made him available for transfer, they would reportedly seek a fee in the region of £20m for the star, who has two years left to run on his deal.
But with no takers coming forward, Levy has reportedly told Napoli that he will accept a loan deal for the player if there is an obligation included to make the move permanent next summer.
Furthermore, Lo Celso’s suitors will have to pick up 100% of the player’s wages. Il Gazzetta reports these are set at €4.2m net, which equates to around £70,000 per week.
The report, however, states that De Laurentiis may oppose that and will try to negotiate a compromise with Spurs. Therefore, it’s claimed there is ‘still a lot of work to be done’ before the transfer gets the official greenlight.
However, talks over a possible move are underway. To that end the player’s agent has confirmed to Radio Punto Nuovo that talks with Napoli are underway.
“We are talking about him, but at the moment nothing is closed yet,” Lo Celso’s representative said.
Barcelona eyeing Lo Celso as Kessie replacement
With Lo Celso also open to the move, however, there is expected to be movement on his future in the coming weeks.
However, the report claims Barcelona are also monitoring developments closely. And the Spanish champions could yet make a move of their own to bring Lo Celso to the Nou Camp.
The midfielder impressed while making 29 appearances for the Yellow Submarine last season. And Xavi reportedly wants to bring him to Catalonia amid claims Franck Kessie could be allowed to move on.
Should Barca enter the bidding, they will be given the same conditions as Napoli.
Either way, it appears unlikely Lo Celso will still be with Tottenham once the 2023/24 campaign officially gets underway.
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