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Tottenham’s plans to sign Argentine midfielder Giovani Lo Celso have stalled and been put on hold, because they are unable to agree on a valuation with the 23-year old’s current club, Real Betis.
Sky Sports reports that Lo Celso has a £88 million release clause in his contract, which is a long way from the £40 million that Tottenham are thought to have initially offered for the player. Betis are hoping to get at least £70 million for a player whom they only acquired from Paris Saint-Germain last year, initially on a loan deal which was converted into a permanent move only three months ago.
This does not mean that the deal is dead, however. Lo Celso’s release clause is set at a level that few clubs can afford, and is not a measure of his true market value. And with chairman Daniel Levy Spurs have a proven tough negotiator who is willing to wait until Betis drop their price before engaging in further talks with them.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.