Tottenham Hotspur are thought to have made an improved offer for Giovani Lo Celso.
According to a report by Mucho Deportes, Spurs have tabled a bid of €68million (£61m) for the Real Betis playmaker, edging closer to the €75m (£67.2m) valuation the La Liga outfit have for their star man.
It is also claimed Tottenham have approached super agent Pini Zahavi to act as an intermediary, although it is suggested the Premier League outfit will still need to get closer to Betis’ demands if they are to secure Lo Celso’s signature this summer.
This report is certainly a far cry from the one that Sky Sports recently published, as they had claimed talks for the Argentina international had been put on hold as the two clubs continued to stall over the financial demands of a potential deal.
It is unlikely anything will happen until next week though as Lo Celso is still in Brazil as Argentina prepare to face Chile in the Copa America’s third-place play-off.
Although it might not be strange for Daniel Levy to continue to hold out for a deal that he believes represents ‘value for money’, for the sake of spending around an extra £6m to get the 23-year-old through the door, surely that must be worth doing if required?
Obviously, that would appear to go against everything that he stands for, however, the South American has surely proved he would be worth coughing up the extra dough this summer.
Lo Celso managed to net 16 goals and contribute a further six assists in his 46 matches across all competitions last season (Transfermarkt); which would provide us with the additional goal threat from the middle of the park that has been lacking recently as we do not have the midfield options that can score regularly and surely making that extra £6m we would need to spend appear to be a snip.
We wouldn’t be surprised if talks continue to stall and go on for a lot longer than they need to, however, Lo Celso needs to be at Tottenham before the end of the transfer window, especially if we are willing to get rather close to Betis’ demands.