Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly holding out for a fee of €20 million for midfielder Giovani Lo Celso amid interest from Fiorentina.
According to Italian journalist Niccolo Ceccarini on Radio Toscana (h/t Fiorentina News), Fiorentina are interested in signing Tottenham Hotspur outcast Giovani Lo Celso this summer but will have to shell out €20 million to land him.
Lo Celso has never hit the heights expected of him since he joined the club from Real Betis in 2019. Initially signed on loan, Tottenham made the Argentine’s transfer permanent in 2020 after the departure of Christian Eriksen to Inter Milan. Even though there have been glimpses of his quality every now and then, the 26-year-old has just not clicked in London.
Lo Celso struggled for game-time in the first half of the last season and was loaned out to Villarreal in January last year. The Argentine playmaker enjoyed a solid spell with the Yellow Submarines, helping them make it to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League.
A permanent move to Villarreal has been talked about but the La Liga side do not have the finances to pull off the transfer. But he has no shortage of suitors, with Villarreal’s rivals Atletico Madrid also interested in the Argentine while Fiorentina have also emerged as a suitor for the 26-year-old midfielder.
Fiorentina are keen on building a team capable of challenging for the Champions League spots after qualifying for the UEFA Europa Conference League last season. And having lost Lucas Torreira, whose loan spell has expired, the Viola are looking to add another midfielder to their ranks.
Even though Lo Celso is not exactly a player of a similar profile to Torreira, the Tottenham star can offer more quality on the ball and vision from midfield, thus enhancing Fiorentina’s attacking play.
However, in order to sign him from Tottenham, Fiorentina have been told that they will need to shell out a sum of €20 million, which could become an issue as they were reluctant to spend half of that to sign Torreira permanently from Arsenal.
The report also mentions that Fiorentina have lined up Lazio’s Luis Alberto as a potential alternative, but a move for the Spaniard will be complicated. So, it remains to be seen if the Serie A giants are willing to meet Tottenham’s €20 million demands to sign Lo Celso.
