DiMarzio: Napoli want Lo Celso on loan with purchase option

Last summer Napoli took one of Tottenham Hotspur’s want-away midfielders — Tanguy Ndombele — on loan for the season. This summer they’re interested in another one. Gianluca DiMarzio writes on his blog that the defending Italian champions are interested in a season-long loan for Giovani Lo Celso, but the clubs are a bit apart in their negotiations.

Specifically, Napoli would like to take Gio on loan with an option to purchase next summer, but Spurs want him out the door permanently and are pushing for a purchase obligation. DiMarzio says this is really the only point of difference between the two clubs, otherwise this would get done. But as of now, they’re at an impasse.

Gio has links to other clubs as well — a long-standing interest from Unai Emery and Aston Villa, as well as Villarreal, where Gio spent last season on loan. Wherever he goes, Gio’s going to want to play a lot of football as that’s more or less what keeps him in the Argentina national team, something he cares deeply about.

The only thing that seems clear right now is that he’s unlikely to stay at Spurs this summer, despite heading out with the rest of the squad for Tottenham’s preseason tour to Australia and Asia. So we WILL likely see him in a Spurs shirt at least one more time, but I’d be shocked if he’s not shipped off somewhere before the end of the window.