View: Lo Celso could revive Tottenham career with Postecoglou in charge
As reported by Dan Kilpatrick of the Evening Standard on 6 June, Giovani Lo Celso is part of a list of at least 10 Tottenham players whose futures at the club are in question ahead of the summer transfer window.
The Argentina international is on the list alongside first-team stars Hugo Lloris, Eric Dier, Ivan Perisic, Davinson Sanchez, Ben Davies, Harry Winks, Ryan Sessegnon, Bryan Gil, and Sergio Reguilon as the club looks to overhaul the squad for new manager Ange Postecoglou.
Lo Celso arrived at Tottenham in the summer of 2019 initially on loan and has never quite settled at the club since that move was made permanent for £27.2million in January 2020.
The midfielder has spent the last season and a half on loan at Villarreal in Spain where he has performed well and was part of the club’s run to the Champions League semi-final under Unai Emery during the 2021/22 campaign.
Lo Celso scored twice and assisted three goals in his 22 appearances during the 2022/23 La Liga season.
While he has yet to find his feet at Tottenham, the stats suggest that perhaps Lo Celso shouldn’t be moved on from the club just yet, as the 27-year-old might be a good option for incoming manager Postecoglou’s style of play.
The Australian coach enjoys using a number eight who can support the forward line and impact play high up the pitch which is a role Lo Celso might be able to slot into seamlessly.
During last season’s La Liga campaign, Lo Celso completed 7.75 progressive passes per 90 which put him in the 94th percentile of this particular statistic compared to his positional peers in the competition, as per stats provided by FBREF.
The Copa America winner also made 2.80 progressive carries per 90 and 3.36 touches in the attacking penalty area per 90, putting him in the top twenty percentile for both of these statistics and demonstrating his willingness to get forward and impact play higher up the field.
What was particularly impressive was the fact he was in the top one percentile for touches in the attacking third per 90, making 31.01, which further proves his willingness to get forward from midfield, something Postecoglou would appreciate in his midfielder.
The former Celtic boss prefers to play a high press when out of possession, and Lo Celso’s 0.80 tackles in the attacking third per 90, putting him in the top one percentile of positional peers for the statistic, clearly shows this is a system he could operate in.
While it has never quite clicked for the player at the club, an opportunity under a new manager might be exactly what he needs to flourish and rather than Tottenham going out and spending the money on a midfielder to play Postecoglou’s system, they might already have exactly what they need without realising.
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