Player Watch Player Watch: Giovani Lo Celso

[parj]

I think he’s better as an 8&10 than Kulu and if given a run of games can for sure be as good as if not better than Maddison, question is will Ange give him enough game time and will Gio be willing to stay as a back-up squad player or will be try to angle for a move back to Spain.

In the time Maddison was our Gio barely had a game where he wasn’t at least 7/10, he made us tick really nicely and he shows his class for Argentina week in week out.

Just needs to stay fit and be given more chances imo.

I think Maddison is more moments but GLC is more action. He constantly keeps the ball moving into attacking spaces, but what I love about him is he doesn't have to be the one that plays it into spaces, he will move the ball to the player that can. If we could find a way to have both on the pitch then we could have some serious quality creativity in the team.

And GLC can do the full midfielder duties on the defensive side too

 

[Ghost Hardware]

Fact of the matter is there is babe obvious reason why he starts pretty much every game for Argentina when fit. A very very good player.

He’s supposed to be one of 17 player’s guaranteed a spot in the Argentina team in the upcoming Copa American, along with Romero. Not massive I know but he really is a very important player for them. Like you say, he’s a very good player who is valued highly by the number 1 ranked country in the world.

 

[Nick-TopSpursMan]

Class player

 

[dude573]

I think it will be a real failure if we cannot find a role for him here at Spurs.

 

[CarrickSpurgus]

Thing is we would be creaming ourselves if we were linked to a player of his quality and would all be clamouring for the club to sign him , I rate him highly and would like to see him given a good run but it’s always injuries with him and btw I think Maddison is over rated and have always had that impression of him .

 

[Ghost Hardware]

He would be an idiot to sign any extension. He has such a small timespan for a career and will never be considered a starter for us, although I think he should be.

He needs to go and needs to be playing. Too good to be getting 20-30 mins on a good day, 10-15 mins typically.

Thing is next season we will have so many games. There is zero chance we can rely on a first team especially given our high energy system. Whoever our Maddison alternative is will get a lot of starts and whoever that player is should be competing for the starting spot not just waiting for Maddison to be subbed.

I think Gio would get more then enough game time if he stays fit and he continues to perform as well he has done this season. Staying fit is unfortunately a big if for him. But unless Ange decides to prioritise certain players, which in general would be a recipe for disaster, then i don’t think it’s such a bad deal. Unless Ange doesn’t give him a fair chance to fight for a starting spot then I could certainly see Gio staying. It’s just a question of if he can stay fit and how Ange rates him.

 

[Tucker]

Thing is next season we will have so many games. There is zero chance we can rely on a first team especially given our high energy system. Whoever our Maddison alternative is will get a lot of starts and whoever that player is should be competing for the starting spot not just waiting for Maddison to be subbed.

I think Gio would get more then enough game time if he stays fit and he continues to perform as well he has done this season. Staying fit is unfortunately a big if for him. But unless Ange decides to prioritise certain players, which in general would be a recipe for disaster, then i don’t think it’s such a bad deal. Unless Ange doesn’t give him a fair chance to fight for a starting spot then I could certainly see Gio staying. It’s just a question of if he can stay fit and how Ange rates him.

I think this is the big issue with Gio, he also only has a year left on his contract. I love him as a player, especially in this system, but he just cannot be relied on to be available when we need him.

 

[dontcallme]

I think this is the big issue with Gio, he also only has a year left on his contract. I love him as a player, especially in this system, but he just cannot be relied on to be available when we need him.

He's in an interesting situation. He's had injuries and at times seemed out of favour, likely due to the injuries. At one point it seemed he wanted to go back to Spain but no one put up the required money to buy him.

Normally when a player has one year left on his contract, it's a case of extend the contract or look to sell him. In this case I think we might be best off keeping him for another season and the manager uses him same as he would any other player. At the end of the season we can see if he deserves an extension or it's time to move on.

 

[keithtighe93]

I hope he stays fit until the end of the season, does well, and stays.

He’s our best midfielder at ball retention I think. Not saying he’s our best all rounder, but he has composure and ability to keep things ticking over that the others don’t IMO.

 

[Ghost Hardware]

I think this is the big issue with Gio, he also only has a year left on his contract. I love him as a player, especially in this system, but he just cannot be relied on to be available when we need him.

Yeah the fitness thing is a big issue. I get that. I think we need to see how he does over the rest of the season. If he can stay fit etc. I also think we need to see what our business is like in the summer. I would not feel comfortable going into next season with Kulu as our primary rotation option for Maddison and I think Donley needs a loan.

My inclination at present is to keep him and ether give him a new short term contract or let his contract run down with a view of replacing him next year either with a new player or Donley. Or of course if he proves worthy of a new contract in that time.

Ether way I don’t think he should be nailed on to leave at this stage and due to his ability deserves to be given a chance to earn an extension over the remaining games. Really if he didn’t have question marks over his fitness we would be lucky to have such a good player as part of the squad.

 

[muppetman]

Didn't realise this - over how many seasons?

 

[mil1lion]

I think he’s better as an 8&10 than Kulu and if given a run of games can for sure be as good as if not better than Maddison, question is will Ange give him enough game time and will Gio be willing to stay as a back-up squad player or will be try to angle for a move back to Spain.

In the time Maddison was our Gio barely had a game where he wasn’t at least 7/10, he made us tick really nicely and he shows his class for Argentina week in week out.

Just needs to stay fit and be given more chances imo.

Games like today and any really where teams sit off to defend I see no reason we can't play Lo Celso and Maddison together

 

[ItsBoris]

He needs to start now Maddison been way too off the pace. You could almost make a case for our OG midfield of Hojberg, Bentancur, GLC, but I think Sarr been good enough to deserve his place.

 

[Ghost Hardware]

 

[djhotspur]

Class player

The defending in our box was very good, he reads the danger from a fair distance. We have so many players guilty of ball watching usually

 

[djhotspur]

Games like today and any really where teams sit off to defend I see no reason we can't play Lo Celso and Maddison together

Yeah same. Against low blocks we definitely could

 

[Joely]

Very small sample size to go by but in the limited time they have been on the pitch together, feel like Lo Celso and Bentancur play well together and link up well.

 

[kitchen]

Very small sample size to go by but in the limited time they have been on the pitch together, feel like Lo Celso and Bentancur play well together and link up well.

If you want to keep the ball and control the game, these two should be the first names in the midfield.

They just get pass and move football...

 

[mill]

Yeah given the last couple of games and recent form of a few players a bit of a shake up of the starting XI is needed for me with gio being one of the beneficiaries of this imo

 

[Pellshek]

100 up for Gio, and yet he still somehow feels peripheral. To the core squad, and perhaps even at the club. Never quite fully integrated. An outsider in some sense. His face popping up in a training-ground vid is always seems both familiar but surprising. It's a slightly curious case.