Barcelona manager Xavi determined to sign Giovani Lo Celso in January as Tottenham ‘conundrum’ emerges
Ange Postecoglou will be wincing ahead of January with Barcelona interested in Giovani Lo Celso and his recent Tottenham displays means it may be tough to let him go.
The 27-year-old maestro had been something of a forgotten man at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium this past year and could well have exited North London this summer to rejoin Real Betis permanently.
However, a few months on and Spurs fans have been looking at and revelling in Lo Celso’s reincarnation as a Tottenham player with James Maddison out injured but the Argentinian could yet still leave in a matter of weeks.
According to Sky Sports reporter Lyall Thomas, taking to his personal X account (11 December), Barcelona boss Xavi is determined to sign the former Betis maestro in January and has personally requested his bosses to get him in.
With just 18 months left on his current deal at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, Spurs are left in a “conundrum” to decide whether he stays or goes in January. The decision may not be easy for Postecoglou given Lo Celso’s resurgence amid their current squad crisis.
Thomas posted: “Xavi is determined to sign Tottenham’s Giovani Lo Celso for Barcelona in January and requested the club get it done in what is seen as a test of their support for him. Interesting conundrum for Spurs with 18 months left on his deal.”
The 27-year-old has arguably been one of the club’s more consistent performers over the last few weeks with Postecoglou somewhat forced to pick him due to the injury crisis at the club.
Arguably his best game for Spurs during his recent run came in the 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa (26 November) where he was heavily influential, scoring his first goal of the campaign as well as registering three key passes, successfully completing 92% of his passes, 100% of his long balls, and winning an impressive seven of his 13 ground duels [SofaScore].
He then followed that up with another goal in the 3-3 draw against Manchester City (3 December), whilst completing 100% of his passes, 100% of his long balls and winning 60% of his duels.
As per Sofascore, during the 2-1 defeat against West Ham on Thursday 7 December, Lo Celso completed 90% of his passes, with three of those being key. In addition to this, he was one of the few in white who gave Lukasz Fabianski anything to think about, registering one shot on target, seeing one shot blocked and hitting the woodwork on another occasion.
He was also a nuisance for West Ham off the ball as he won five of his six ground duels and made one tackle. It is easy to see why Xavi is desperate for him due to his excellent and complete attributes both on and off the ball, but Postecoglou may well be as desperate to keep him.
Maddison could be back to full fitness by the time Lo Celso leaves in January but having the Argentinian as a backup to the Englishman would significantly boost Tottenham considerably.
Lo Celso, according to the stats, ranks just as good as Maddison does in terms of his creative class.
Last season, Lo Celso ranked in the 99th percentile of his positional peers for key passes per 90, 98th percentile for shot-creating actions and 99th percentile for passes into the penalty area.
They may play the same advanced position but Lo Celso offers something different to Maddison in his off-the-ball work.
The Argentinian ranked in the 98th percentile of midfielders for tackles won and 99th percentile for tackles won in the attacking third [FBRef] last season showing that he suits Postecoglou’s all-action style but he certainly fits Barcelona’s too.
Ultimately the decision rests with Lo Celso and whether he will be swayed by Barca’s interest but his tremendous influence in such a short space of time in North London means he may be hard to let go of for Postecoglou.
Indeed, Tottenham now face an “interesting conundrum” regarding his future.
In other Tottenham news, one 79 per cent Spurs star has been described as “brilliant” by Jeff Stelling.