Player Watch Player Watch: Giovani Lo Celso

[Goobers]

You could argue that both TN and GLC would be expected to transition into premier league life. I woupdn’t be surprised if neither pulled up trees early on. And that’s fine to be honest. I believe that TN and (if we do sign him) GLC have the quality to be game changers for us in the long term.

 

[BigPlimpton]

I have no idea how Poch is going to get GLC and TND into the same lineup without either playing them in a double pivot with no true defensive midfielder (entirely possible given how well we played with Sissoko and Winks when Dier and Wanyama were both injured) or dropping Dele to the bench and going to a 4-3-3 (unfortunately also somewhat possible).

BUT - one thing is absolutely clear. If GLC and TDN are in the same lineup, we would have a left footed and right footed combination of two of the most unstoppable midfield players playing in world football today. Their ability to break through the midfield press and pass through lines could make Klopp’s heavy metal press irrelevant. And I do not make a statement like that lightly.

 

[edgey]

Think Lamela will seriously struggle for game time lo celso has so many different attributes, he could play anywhere from a deep lying midfielder to playing off Kane. Him and Ndombele are prophet statement signings I ain’t been this excited about a season since the days of Hoddle waddle and ardlies

Steady on fella, they're good signings, yes, and crucial to keeping us from standing still whilst others improve... But lets not get too ahead of ourselves. Neither are Premier League proven players so no guarantee they'll hit the ground running. Could take half a season or more till we really see their impact, it's too early to tell. Plus I think we need more than just those two to compete with Liverpool and City, especially as we seem to be offloading our fullbacks and still possibly one half of our best defensive pairing in recent years.

So lets just keep things realistic. Yeah they're good signings, and in areas we needed improvement/competition, but to compare with the Hoddle/Waddle/Ardilles signings is a bit too much imo

 

[Johnny J]

BUT - one thing is absolutely clear. If GLC and TDN are in the same lineup, we would have a left footed and right footed combination of two of the most unstoppable midfield players playing in world football today.

Is GLC that good? Honest question, as I haven't seen him play, but it sounds like you have.

 

[TheAmerican]

I have no idea how Poch is going to get GLC and TND into the same lineup without either playing them in a double pivot with no true defensive midfielder (entirely possible given how well we played with Sissoko and Winks when Dier and Wanyama were both injured) or dropping Dele to the bench and going to a 4-3-3 (unfortunately also somewhat possible).

BUT - one thing is absolutely clear. If GLC and TDN are in the same lineup, we would have a left footed and right footed combination of two of the most unstoppable midfield players playing in world football today. Their ability to break through the midfield press and pass through lines could make Klopp’s heavy metal press irrelevant. And I do not make a statement like that lightly.

Guardiola used to have his fullbacks tuck in during his first year at City. So, instead of bombing forward along the flanks, they'd take up space in the midfield, allowing the midfielders to move forward. With our current situation at FB and CM, I think we may Poch try similar.

 

[Hakkz]

Guardiola used to have his fullbacks tuck in during his first year at City. So, instead of bombing forward along the flanks, they'd take up space in the midfield, allowing the midfielders to move forward. With our current situation at FB and CM, I think we may Poch try similar.

Both Sissoko and Ndombele have experience playing down the right, so maybe.

 

[BigPlimpton]

Is GLC that good? Honest question, as I haven't seen him play, but it sounds like you have.

He doesn’t have the pace and dribbling/trickery of a Keita - type midfielder but his passing and decision-making were outstanding, with elite goal production despite playing for a mid table La Liga side. I am convinced that playing consistently next to elite talent he could be like a young VDV or Cazorla, depending on how deep on the pitch Poch sees him playing ultimately. Then you put him alongside an elite line-breaking possession dribbler like TDN...[kissing fingers emoji]. Also, he will punish deep lying teams that fail to respect his left foot from distance, something we didn’t have from central midfield last year that will hopefully open up lanes for his teammates.

Needs to improve his first touch in crowded midfield areas and will probably be caught on the ball some while he gets up to the speed of the EPL.

 

[Johno1470]

He doesn’t have the pace and dribbling/trickery of a Keita - type midfielder but his passing and decision-making were outstanding, with elite goal production despite playing for a mid table La Liga side. I am convinced that playing consistently next to elite talent he could be like a young VDV or Cazorla, depending on how deep on the pitch Poch sees him playing ultimately. Then you put him alongside an elite line-breaking possession dribbler like TDN...[kissing fingers emoji]. Also, he will punish deep lying teams that fail to respect his left foot from distance, something we didn’t have from central midfield last year that will hopefully open up lanes for his teammates.

Needs to improve his first touch in crowded midfield areas and will probably be caught on the ball some while he gets up to the speed of the EPL.

Keita has more trickery than Lo Celso?

 

[BigPlimpton]

Keita has more trickery than Lo Celso?

When he was playing consistently at RBL and before he got hurt, Keita could glide past defensive lines with ease with the ball at his feet.

 

[Fredo]

I have no idea how Poch is going to get GLC and TND into the same lineup without either playing them in a double pivot with no true defensive midfielder (entirely possible given how well we played with Sissoko and Winks when Dier and Wanyama were both injured) or dropping Dele to the bench and going to a 4-3-3 (unfortunately also somewhat possible).

BUT - one thing is absolutely clear. If GLC and TDN are in the same lineup, we would have a left footed and right footed combination of two of the most unstoppable midfield players playing in world football today. Their ability to break through the midfield press and pass through lines could make Klopp’s heavy metal press irrelevant. And I do not make a statement like that lightly.

I don't think we would be paying that much for a player if we had thoughts of him being on the bench tbh, therefore I'm pretty certain Lo Celso would be a starter. But yeah the lineup is going to be hard to make, someone is gonna get upset I think.

 

[Johno1470]

When he was playing consistently at RBL and before he got hurt, Keita could glide past defensive lines with ease with the ball at his feet.

Admittedly I haven’t seen much of him at RBL, but seen him for Lpool and he has been decent for them. However GLC has a bag full of tricks up his sleeve. Even some of his goals for Betis show it, especially the side flick goal. Reminds me a little on Alli with his craftiness.

 

[Luka Van der Bale]

Steady on fella, they're good signings, yes, and crucial to keeping us from standing still whilst others improve... But lets not get too ahead of ourselves. Neither are Premier League proven players so no guarantee they'll hit the ground running. Could take half a season or more till we really see their impact, it's too early to tell. Plus I think we need more than just those two to compete with Liverpool and City, especially as we seem to be offloading our fullbacks and still possibly one half of our best defensive pairing in recent years.

So lets just keep things realistic. Yeah they're good signings, and in areas we needed improvement/competition, but to compare with the Hoddle/Waddle/Ardilles signings is a bit too much imo

You’ve definitely misunderstood his point there mate. He said they’re statement signings, and he hasn’t been this excited about Spurs since the days of Hoddle, Waddle and Ardiles. Those are two separate statements - he’s not comparing them to those 3 yet.

 

[Hoopspur]

Reading between the lines here, but Lo Celso media picked back up again last day or so about being very close. Low and behold, today it appears that could be true.
So in parallel, here’s where I’m reaching a bit, Sessegnon stories have ramped up also, so hopefully that’s about to follow suit.
Add to that Eriksen appearing happy at the media day today, could be be staying???

Adding Lo Celso, Sessegnon(s) and Eriksen staying is a big push in the right direction. Just keep Toby and Rose, maybe look for a Llorente replacement and we’re laughing.

Today I heard on the radio that we are signing a Llorente replacement. His name is Llorente - on a reduced contract ?

 

[Joely]

When he was playing consistently at RBL and before he got hurt, Keita could glide past defensive lines with ease with the ball at his feet.

Good player but think there was maybe a little too much hype over him. Think he only had the one good season in Germany and to be honest I think the standard in that league has been on a downward slope for a while Bayern and Dortmund aside.

 

[SdB]

I have no idea how Poch is going to get GLC and TND into the same lineup without either playing them in a double pivot with no true defensive midfielder (entirely possible given how well we played with Sissoko and Winks when Dier and Wanyama were both injured) or dropping Dele to the bench and going to a 4-3-3 (unfortunately also somewhat possible).

BUT - one thing is absolutely clear. If GLC and TDN are in the same lineup, we would have a left footed and right footed combination of two of the most unstoppable midfield players playing in world football today. Their ability to break through the midfield press and pass through lines could make Klopp’s heavy metal press irrelevant. And I do not make a statement like that lightly.

Easy decision for me - bench Dele.

 

[ebzrascal]

Easy decision for me - bench Dele.

He certainly needs to fight for his place

 

[Japhet]

I have no idea how Poch is going to get GLC and TND into the same lineup without either playing them in a double pivot with no true defensive midfielder (entirely possible given how well we played with Sissoko and Winks when Dier and Wanyama were both injured) or dropping Dele to the bench and going to a 4-3-3 (unfortunately also somewhat possible).

BUT - one thing is absolutely clear. If GLC and TDN are in the same lineup, we would have a left footed and right footed combination of two of the most unstoppable midfield players playing in world football today. Their ability to break through the midfield press and pass through lines could make Klopp’s heavy metal press irrelevant. And I do not make a statement like that lightly.

I don't think the recent recruits are all about getting them on the pitch at the start of each game. It's more about having absolute quality options to rotate and also a bench that scares the living shit out of our opponents. Guardiola doesn't worry about how to get Sane, Sterling, Bernardo Silava, DeBruyne, Gundoggan etc all in the same team and we have to adopt the same approach. Having those quality options and keeping them all fresh and competitive is the object of the exercise.

 

[wiggo24]

Easy decision for me - bench Dele.

Another one seriously under-appreciating Dele, imo. He wasn't at his best last season but he was clearly knackered, and playing much deeper during the midfield crisis for the benefit of the rest of the team.

Put him back in the team just behind Kane, with a functional midfield behind him, and I think he'll be back to his best.

If GLC signs, he'll have signed to train. He needs to earn his spot, and we all know that's what Poch will think too.

 

[Timberwolf]

I don't think we would be paying that much for a player if we had thoughts of him being on the bench tbh, therefore I'm pretty certain Lo Celso would be a starter. But yeah the lineup is going to be hard to make, someone is gonna get upset I think.

Hopefully this way we'll be able to tailor our lineup and system more to our opposition and rotate our forward players rather than playing the same lineup every week. The top managers like Guardiola and Ferguson rotate their teams all the time and even their very best players don't tend to start every single game (except maybe Messi and Ronaldo). That's what we should be aiming for.

Also, if we get injuries at least we'll have real depth rather than simply playing the players who are fit.

 

[E17yid]

Hopefully this way we'll be able to tailor our lineup and system more to our opposition and rotate our forward players rather than playing the same lineup every week. The top managers like Guardiola and Ferguson rotate their teams all the time and even their very best players don't tend to start every single game (except maybe Messi and Ronaldo). That's what we should be aiming for.

Also, if we get injuries at least we'll have real depth rather than simply playing the players who are fit.

I do agree with this, more or less, but Liverpool barely rotated at all last season. There’s something to be said for having a settled starting 11. They were lucky with injuries, though, especially up top.