Tottenham legend Ossie Ardiles has revealed how impressed he has been with Giovani Lo Celso.
The 23-year-old arrived from Real Betis last summer, and after overcoming an early injury setback he has made 28 appearances so far this season.
While he’s been limited to contributing two goals and one assist in those outings, Ardiles is still impressed with his impact and has praised his key attributes which he insists make him a real talent.
“The first thing I’d like to say about Giovani is that I’m very proud of him,” he told the club’s official site. “Suddenly, when he came here to Spurs, he had one of the worst things that can happen to you as a footballer when you first arrive in a new club – he got injured.
“However, he started to play more regularly and, immediately, he made an impact. He’s a very sensible player, he knows what he’s doing all the time, he’s clever and so on. Little by little, I have to say, he’s adapted to the pace of the game here extremely well. Right now, it doesn’t look like he has any problems with that at all.
“He’s very skilful… look, everyone is skilful, but what makes you different is what is in your head, and even though he’s very young, I don’t want to say he has an older head, but he has a more experienced head on his shoulders. He’s a very, very good player and he can go from strength to strength.”
As noted by BBC Sport, Tottenham opted to make Lo Celso’s move permanent in January, as he completed a move worth £27.2m.
In turn, he has evidently done enough already to convince the club hierarchy and Jose Mourinho that he’s capable of being a crucial player moving forward, and Ardiles is backing him to succeed in the long run too.
It’s currently unclear when the Premier League season will resume given the stoppage due to the coronavirus pandemic, but Lo Celso will undoubtedly play a key role as Spurs look to try and claim a Champions League qualification spot for next season.
Particularly with Harry Kane and Heung Min-Son potentially still sidelined due to injury, the Argentine international will be given more responsibility by Mourinho to make a vital difference.
I’m proud of him too Ozzie. we all are. Proper baller.