Levy To Start Renegotiating Lo Celso Deal, Really?

It has not been an ideal start for Giovani Lo Celso at Tottenham Hotspur.

Spurs only saw 43 minutes of the Argentine midfielder across three substitute cameos before he picked up a hip injury on international duty, and he has not played since the 2-2 draw with Arsenal on September 1st.

This at a time when manager Mauricio Pochettino badly needed his new signings to instantly inject fresh ideas and energy into his stagnant squad.

As Spanish publication El Desmarque outlines, Lo Celso joined Spurs from Real Betis on an initial season-long loan deal. The move cost the London club €16million, with a buying option of €41million for the end of the campaign.

There seemed to be an acceptance that the second payment was a sure thing, and that the structure of the transfer was only that way to suit the clubs financially, not because of any Spurs reservations over the player.

However, El Desmarque understands that Betis are worried that Daniel Levy may try to use Lo Celso’s slow start to knock down the final price.

It would be a classic Levy move, especially now that he faces losing Christian Eriksen, Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen without recouping a penny, when their contracts expire in the summer.

Lo Celso is clearly a player that Pochettino sees as part of his long-term rebuild and any move by Levy to jeopardize the deal over a couple of million quid would be met with outrage by a fan base sick of his old tricks.