According to the Metro, Man United and Spurs are set to go head to head in a transfer tug of war over Real Betis playmaker Giovani Lo Celso in the summer window.
The Metro understands that the 23-year-old Argentine international is more keen on uniting with his compatriot Mauricio Pochettino at Spurs, leaving United to play second-fiddle in the race to sign the highly-rated attacking midfielder.
The same source claims that Lo Celso has a release clause of £88 million in his contract at Real Betis and the La Liga outfit are demanding a figure as close as possible to the midfielder’s buy-out clause, meaning that both the Premier League clubs would need to fork out a massive amount of cash to get their hands on the Argentine maestro.
Lo Celso, who spent the last season on loan at Real Betis from French champions PSG, enjoyed a wonderful run in the La Liga, registering an impressive tally of 16 goals and 6 assists in 46 appearances for the Spanish outfit across all competitions.
As a result of the Argentinian’s fine performances, Betis took up the option of signing him permanently back in April, and now they prepared to cash in on him and pocket a huge profit from a lucrative sale.
The 23-year-old fell out of favour at PSG due to the presence of several stalwarts in the ranks at the French capital but he really proved his worth as a dynamic playmaker in the Spanish top-flight this term.
Lo Celso, who currently has 12 senior international caps for Argentina under his belt, is regarded as one of the best emerging players of his generation and few would dare to argue that he has the talent and the potential to evolve into one of the household names in European football in the years to follow.
A technically-gifted and tactically-versatile central midfielder by trade, Lo Celso is capable of playing attacking, defensive and box-to-box roles in the middle of the park. A nimble left-footed creative ace noted for his tenacious and hardworking style of play and work-ethics, the 23-year-old combines his physicality with his mesmerizing dribbling skills to ride past challenges in the midfield.
Lo Celso is adept at creating his own space in the midfield and he certainly has the range of passing, vision and the creativity to play between the lines and work the half-spaces between the full-backs and the centre-backs.
However, his most impressive attributes are his remarkable speed of thought and god-gifted tactical awareness, which make him stand head and shoulders above most of the players in the same mould.
The 23-year-old scored 16 goals from central midfield this season, which clearly outlines his propensity for getting into the box and contributing with crucial strikes.
Not only does he offer a lot in terms of work-rate off the ball, but he also earned plaudits for his slick passing, easy-on-the-eye one-touch football, composure in possession and excellence from set-pieces.
To put things into perspective, Giovani Lo Celso is a world-class midfielder in the making and he would be an excellent signing for both Man United and Spurs.
While Spurs have every reason to look at him as someone who could possibly add a lot more depth and quality to their midfield, Lo Celso has all the attributes to fit in seamlessly at Old Trafford under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Lo Celso’s inclination to join Spurs is quite understandable given the Lilywhites’ recent success and the presence of Pochettino at the helm of affairs, but it would be a real shame for Man United to drop their interest in the dynamic playmaker.
He is only 23, so one would expect him to make significant improvements to his game in the years to come and United just cannot afford to miss out on signing him this summer.
A club of Man United’s stature and heritage certainly has the finances and pulling power to attract any top talent from across the globe and the Red Devils need to exercise that this summer. Solskjaer has a massive rebuilding job on his hands and it is a no-brainer that United need a squad overhaul to freshen up things following a lacklustre run in the Premier League last term.
The departures of Ander Herrera and Marouane Fellaini have left the Red Devils short of cover in central midfield, with last summer’s recruit Fred failing to get to grips with English football. Question marks continue to linger over the future of star man Paul Pogba and it is easy to see why the acquisition of Lo Celso would be a massive coup for the club.
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Man United need to act quickly and try to have the final say in the race to sign the 23-year-old Argentinian this summer, given that he perfectly fits the bill in relation to the club’s long-term and short-term goals.