Tottenham Hotspur could sign Giovani Lo Celso on a permanent basis earlier and cheaper than first expected, according to Mundo Deportivo.
Spurs brought the Argentine midfielder in on loan from Real Betis on deadline day of the English summer window, for an apparent fee of £13.7m and an option to complete the transfer for £34million in the summer.
Despite the fact that Lo Celso has only made one Premier League start this season, reports from Spain claim Spurs may get the deal done in January.
That is at least what Real Betis are expecting, according to Mundo Deportivo who say that the La Liga club are prepared for Spurs to trigger a clause that will allow them to sign 23-year-old Lo Celso for £27.5m in the New Year.
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Although injuries have prevented us from seeing enough of Lo Celso to be convinced he can replace Christian Eriksen, he was Mauricio Pochettino’s top target throughout the summer so the boss is clearly a fan. And anything that would save the club a few bob would have Daniel Levy’s support.
The end of the season is going to be very busy in terms of player turnover (seriously, there’s no avoiding it this time), so to get Lo Celso wrapped up before then would make sense, which is probably why it won’t happen.