Tottenham Hotspur’s long chase for midfielder Giovani Lo Celso over the summer, finally saw us capture the Argentine 23-year-old late on in the transfer window and he made the switch to White Hart Lane from Real Betis on an initial loan deal so we could see how he settled in.
The player hasn’t really had the chance to impress fans yet, as he’s only made five substitute appearances for us as manager Mauricio Pochettino got him up to speed and allowed him time to settle into life at the club. Picking up an injury certainly hasn’t helped him settle in, but we did see him back out on the pitch at the end of October as he made cameo appearances against Red Star Belgrade and Liverpool, but rather predictably his country have already confirmed that he will be called up for the November window.
Fans will have their own thoughts about that given he’s only just returned to fitness, and speaking to Sky Sports this week, our gaffer didn’t hide his disappointment at their decision either.
“Always as a manager you want your player at home. For him it’s going to be tough because again when he is nearly fit to start again to play, he needs to go away. When you change the dynamic of a training session, situations can happen, some wrong situations. Being honest I am not happy but I accept because I always defend the national team. I always back the decision of the national team because I was a player and I know what it feels like when you play for your flag – but I can do nothing.”
Fingers crossed he doesn’t pick up another issue and if he does feature for them, we get the full benefit of more minutes under his belt. I know Poch has tried to be diplomatic there with his choice of words, but I know the ones that cut through for me.
National sides already have too much power over real club football, but surely it’s not beyond the suits to come up with a stipulation that if a player hasn’t received at least 90 minutes in the fortnight prior to a window, the final decision comes from the club and the player themselves.
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