Express:
Tottenham receive green light to seal Giovani Lo Celso signing, Nabil Fekir holds the key
MAURICIO POCHETTINO is in line to clinch the signing of Giovani Lo Celso as Tottenham prepare to strike in the transfer market for a third time this summer.
By
RYAN TAYLOR
PUBLISHED: 09:48, Thu, Jul 18, 2019 | UPDATED: 12:07, Thu, Jul 18, 2019
Spurs first registered their interest in the midfielder back in May in the build up to the Champions League final, keen to build a blueprint for the upcoming season.
Daniel Levy received a list of key targets from Pochettino as part of extensive plans to kickstart a new era at the club after the opening of their new stadium in April.
Lo Celso has been away with Argentina at this summer’s Copa America meaning talks surrounding a potential exit from Real Betis were temporarily put on hold to ensure he was fully focused on international duty.
He is due back in Seville shortly to begin preparations for the upcoming La Liga campaign despite holding talks with the club in which he has informed them he wants to leave.
Now he will be given the green light to do so allowing
Tottenham to pounce, as Real Betis close in on his replacement Nabil Fekir.
The Lyon captain is on the verge of a move to the Benito Villamarin Stadium in a deal worth £22.6million according to reports in Spain, that will leave many scratching their heads.
Fekir of course, was on the brink of moving to
Liverpool before last year’s World Cup until the switch collapsed at the final hour due to concerns over the reconstruction of his right knee.
The Frenchman had even completed an interview with LFCTV before the Reds decided to walk away from the deal after a medical in Paris.
Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas has been forced to sell Fekir, who has just one year left on his contract and Betis look to have won the race to sign him.
Once completed, the Andalusians will allow Lo Celso to depart, which will be gratefully received by
Pochettino who is looking to bring his fellow Sante Fe native to north London before the August 8 deadline.
Betis are believed to have an agreement with the player that means he will be able to leave should his £67m valuation be met.
But they can now be more flexible during negotiations given that they already have his successor lined up in Fekir, who is debatably an upgrade on the 23-year-old.
There is a strong recruitment structure in place at Betis meaning whenever their production line is cherrypicked by bigger clubs in Europe, they do not struggle finding high-grade replacements.
They lost Dani Ceballos to Real Madrid and Fabian Ruiz to Napoli prior to signing Lo Celso from Paris Saint-Germain for £19m, meaning they’re set to net significant profit.
Betis chiefs are mindful that PSG included a 20 per cent sell-on clause in January when Lo Celso’s loan move was made permanent.
Their manager Rubi has indirectly hinted that he is keen to resolve the sale of Lo Celso as soon as possible.
"We all want new faces soon but in the end we also look for the economic benefit and it is not easy," he said.
“I know who does or does not have that intention. We are talking about a case in which the idea is very clear to leave [Lo Celso]. The rest are staying."
https://www.express.co.uk/sport/foo...l-Fekir-Real-Betis-Mauricio-Pochettino-latest