Ange Postecoglou has delivered a clear indication that Giovani Lo Celso will remain with Tottenham for the coming season.
The Argentine midfielder has impressed off the bench in both of Spurs pre-season friendlies this summer and scored in Wednesday’s 5-1 win over Lion City Sailors.
Napoli and Real Betis have both been linked with a move for Lo Celso after he spent last season on loan at Villarreal, but fresh reports from Spain suggested that he could stay put.
Postecoglou was asked about the rumours after the win in Singapore and gave a typically forthright response.
“You don't have to go to Spain mate,” he said in his post-match press conference.
“You can just ask me. Yeah, I like Gio.
“He fits the way we play. I enjoy working with him and he seems to enjoy working with us.”
Richarlison netted a hat-trick to deliver Postecoglou his first win in the Spurs dugout, albeit after Lion City had taken a surprise early lead.
Manor sets up Gio for a close range finish 👌
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) July 26, 2023
Postecoglou insisted that he was not surprised to see his team struggle initially after a few “punishing” days on the training ground, while he also allayed concerns over a potential injury for Yves Bissouma after he limped out of his warm-down.
“[Bissouma] did all the runs at the end,” said the Australian. “I think he was exhausted. I haven’t picked up anything from the medics. It’s fair to say they’ll be exhausted after what we’ve done in the last three days but I don’t think there’s any issues.”
On the performance, he added: “It was okay, we’ve had a few punishing days for the boys and made them work hard after missing the last game. I knew they wouldn’t be super sharp today, it kind of looked that way in front of goal.
“But in general we played some good football and their attitude was good right until the end.”
