Club president expects Spurs to complete deal for Argentina international in January

Real Betis president Angel Haro has told Spanish news outlet Estadio Deportivo that he expects Tottenham Hotspur to make the deal for Giovani Lo Celso permanent in the January transfer window.

Spurs signed Lo Celso on a season-long loan deal for an initial €16 million fee (Sport Witness) from Betis last summer and Mundo Deportivo revealed last month that the Champions League finalists can make the deal permanent at the end of the season for an additional €40 million.

While Tottenham will have an option to make the deal permanent if they fail to qualify for the Champions League, they have an obligation to buy Lo Celso if they do manage to qualify for the tournament for the fifth season in a row.

However, it was also claimed that the lilywhites have an option to sign the Argentine permanently for just €32 million in January.

There were doubts on whether Spurs will take up the option after the Argentine has struggled for game time under Mourinho. However, the Betis president was confident that the North London club will seal the deal in January in order to avoid paying more for the midfielder in the summer.

Haro told Estadio Deportivo, “[Tottenham] will exercise it because if they don’t they will be [charged more] in June.

“They may also have to exercise the mandatory [clause]. We understand that they will exercise it, but if not [we will be] delighted with the player [returning].”

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Tottenham will certainly be expecting to qualify for the Champions League again and so it makes little sense to wait till the summer and pay more for Lo Celso. However, I fear that Mourinho has had a look at the 23-year-old and decided he doesn’t trust him to perform in the Premier League, in which case Spurs could make the deal permanent in January and sell him next summer.

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