Lo Celso tries to force Real Betis’ hand with transfer to Tottenham

The transfer saga surrounding Argentine International and Real Betis midfielder Giovani Lo Celso continues to press on. Tottenham Hotspur are obviously interested, as we’ve heard about at least two official bids over the last couple of weeks. Betis are standing pat for the time being, but now we’re hearing that Lo Celso is trying to force the move according to the Mirror and John Cross.

Real Betis midfielder Giovani Lo Celso is trying to force a big-money move to Tottenham .

Lo Celso’s representatives are confident they have reached an agreement that Real Betis will consider any deal worth £70m.

That is a significant breakthrough as Lo Celso has a release clause worth more than £80m and so far Tottenham have got nowhere near that figure.

Tottenham are believed to have had a bid of £62m - made up of £50m plus add-ons - rejected by Real Betis who must pay Paris Saint Germain a sell-on fee which is making the deal complicated.

There’s a bit of new information here, such as the breakdown of the bid. £50m plus add-ons is the most Levy-like bid of all time. Next thing you know, we’ll hear that the payment is stretched out for 10 years and depends on whether or not aliens invade the planet.

All joking aside, this sounds like standard negotiations and Lo Celso’s agent doing work in the media. Yes, this is the Mirror, so take it with a grain of salt. John Cross, however, has shown to have sources both with agents and in clubs. This feels 100% like the agent leaking the information to unsettle Betis and finalize the move. The Spanish side may want £70m but they might be in the same situation that Lyon are in regarding Tanguy Ndombele: Get the sale done before June 30 to ensure that the transfer is on this year’s fiscal. That’s speculation, albeit probably not far off from the truth.

If Cross is correct on this and the clubs are apart by just £8m, there’s a happy medium here where this deal can get across the finish line. Levy can completely focus on this now that the stadium is done and keeping Mauricio Pochettino happy by strengthening the squad is a great way to start the summer.