Villarreal president Fernando Roig has claimed that Giovani Lo Celso wants to join the club but admitted the La Liga side cannot afford the Tottenham man unless they sell players this summer.
It was previously reported that Lo Celso was Villarreal’s number one target this summer on the back of his impressive showing on loan at El Madrigal in the second half of last season (El Periodico Mediterraneo).
The Times reported this week that Unai Emery’s are hoping to snap up the 26-year-old for a fee of £16m plus £5m in add-ons but it was suggested that the amount falls short of Tottenham’s asking price.
It now looks like other clubs might enter the race for Lo Celso, with Estadio Deportivo reporting that Spurs had offered the midfielder to Atletico Madrid while Sevilla president Jose Castro described the Argentine as ‘a magnificent player’ (ABC Sevilla).
Roig has now insisted that Villarreal have not negotiated with Spurs for Lo Celso since they do not have the funds to sign the former Real Betis man.
He told El Periodico Mediterraneo regarding the club’s pursuit of Lo Celso: “It is a very complex operation. He is a top player, and we know he wants to stay at Villarreal, but we cannot carry it out if there are no departures.
“He has told us that he wants to stay. We haven’t negotiated because we don’t have any departures. We are not in a position to make an offer because we don’t have the capacity right now. We have a big and expensive team.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Given that Villarreal want Lo Celso and need to sell players, Spurs might be looking at the situation as an opportunity to include the Argentine in a deal for Pau Torres. I would not be surprised if the North London club turn their attention to Torres over the coming days and weeks, now that their pursuit of Bastoni appears to be over.
Keep up to date with all the latest Tottenham news and opinion by following SpursWeb’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
