Villarreal want Giovani Lo Celso but no talks with Tottenham yet | Soccer

He made 16 appearances in La Liga and six more in the Champions League as the Spanish side surprisingly advanced to the semi-finals of the competition.

The Villarreal boss admits they want to keep the Argentina international but with his contract at Spurs running until 2025 any deal will be complex and potentially very expensive.

Although Negueroles also admits he cannot be sure how the talks will go as talks have not started yet.

“Lo Celso is a player who was happy here and made us happy, so we would like to continue together,” Negueroles told Esports Radio Vila-real.

“He’s a Tottenham player and it’s a very complicated operation as of now – we’re not even in talks yet.”

Asked in April if he had watched Lo Celso’s impressive performances for Villarreal, Conte said he had been keeping an eye on his progress but did not comment on his future at Tottenham.

“First of all, I’m very happy about his great performance,” said the Italian. “He had to play with regularity, with continuity. Because of that he went to Spain in a league that he knows very well because he played very well and Tottenham bought him when he was playing in that league.

“Coming back there and showing he’s in good form is good for everyone, especially as Tottenham paid a lot of money for him.

“I’m very happy because he plays every game, he shows he’s a good player, but I never said he wasn’t a good player. I said this league is a very difficult league because it’s not enough to have great quality and it’s important to play with great intensity and strength. But now he plays regularly and I’m very happy for him.”

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