Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Villarreal have now entered the race to sign Giovani Lo Celso on loan from Tottenham.
Lo Celso is one of the players that Tottenham are reportedly keen on offloading before the transfer window slams shut on Monday (Evening Standard).
It was revealed earlier in the week that the midfielder was attracting interest from two La Liga sides – Sevilla (Football.London) and his former club Real Betis (AS via Sport Witness)
However, it seemed as though the Argentine could be off to Ligue 1 after L’Equipe revealed on Friday that Spurs had reached an agreement to loan the 25-year-old to Lyon.
The report claimed that the French side were only waiting on the green light from the player to push ahead with the transfer.
However, if Romano’s latest update is to be believed, Villarreal have now made a late attempt to swoop for the Tottenham man.
The journalist backs up L’Equipe’s claim that Lyon have an agreement in place with Spurs over a loan deal for Lo Celso but the transfer has not yet been signed off on.
The Ligue 1 club’s pursuit of the midfielder has now potentially been complicated by the approach from Unai Emery’s side.
OL and Tottenham have an agreement in place for Gio Lo Celso on loan deal, not in doubt as revealed today afternoon – but it’s still not fully agreed on player/contract side. ⚪️ #THFC
…and also Villarreal have now approached Tottenham for Lo Celso on loan. 🟡 #Villarreal https://t.co/YIJlFjGz0I
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 28, 2022
Spurs Web Opinion
I suspect Lo Celso would prefer to move to Villarreal over Lyon, not just because La Liga is a more prestigious and high profile competition but also because of the success the 25-year-old previously had at Betis.
Wherever the Argentine ends up, I hope the move gets sorted out quickly so that Fabio Paratici can pull the trigger on new signings.