Levy trims £7m from bill to sign Lo Celso as Eriksen lands at Inter
Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy has saved the club almost £7million by taking up the option to sign midfielder Giovani Lo Celso on a permanent deal this month.
Lo Celso made his loan move permanent for a £27.2million fee on the day that Inter Milan confirmed the signature of Christian Eriksen for £16.9million.
As part of Spurs’ loan agreement, which cost £15million, they had the option to sign the 23-year-old Argentine this month or in the summer. But Levy would have had to pay £33.9million to sign Lo Celso at the end of the season, so saved Tottenham a significant amount in tying him to a 5½-year contract now.
Lo Celso started the season slowly while acclimatising to England and the Premier League, but has started to show his pedigree in recent weeks.
A Spurs statement read: “We are delighted to announce that we have exercised the option to convert the loan of Giovani Lo Celso to a permanent transfer.
“The midfielder has produced impressive performances after establishing himself in the team following a hip injury which restricted his playing time in the early part of his loan at the club.”
Eriksen’s switch to Inter Milan brought to an end his 6½ years at the club and the Dane, who cost £11 million from Ajax, must go down as one of Tottenham’s bestvalue signings in recent history. Tottenham wished him well through their official Twitter account and released a video of some of his most memorable moments. Inter, managed by former Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte, are currently second in Serie A, three points behind leaders Juventus. “I’m very excited and can’t wait to introduce myself to the fans,” Eriksen said. “I’ve already experienced their warmth, it’s been a fantastic welcome. The numbers say that I did well in England. It’s now time to start a new challenge. I’m really happy to have the opportunity to play in Serie A for a big team.”
Tottenham are still hoping to offload full-backs Danny Rose and Kyle Walker-peters this month. Rose has interest from Newcastle United, Bournemouth and Watford, while Walker-peters is close to joining Southampton on loan.
Winger Steven Bergwijn is in the process of sealing a move to Spurs after the club agreed an initial fee of £25.4 million with PSV Eindhoven. And Tottenham still plan to sign a striker before Friday night’s deadline.