Tottenham head coach Jose Mourinho says he would not swap Giovani Lo Celso for Bruno Fernandes after Spurs missed out on the Portuguese midfielder last summer when they signed Lo Celso.
Tottenham had opened talks with Sporting Lisbon over a deal for Fernandes at the end of last summer’s transfer window with Fernandes claiming he agreed a deal with Spurs, but they eventually signed Lo Celso on a season-long loan from Real Betis while Mauricio Pochettino was in charge of the north London club.
Tottenham head coach Jose Mourinho says he would not swap Giovani Lo Celso for Bruno Fernandes after Spurs missed out on the Portuguese midfielder last summer when they signed Lo Celso.
Tottenham had opened talks with Sporting Lisbon over a deal for Fernandes at the end of last summer’s transfer window with Fernandes claiming he agreed a deal with Spurs, but they eventually signed Lo Celso on a season-long loan from Real Betis while Mauricio Pochettino was in charge of the north London club.
Since his arrival, Fernandes has been a revelation at United having been directly involved in eight goals in his eight Premier League appearances, while Lo Celso is yet to register a goal or an assist in his 21 league games for Tottenham.
Asked whether he regrets Tottenham missing out on Fernandes last summer, Mourinho told Sky Sports News: “I don’t know anything about that, but if that is true, and if Giovani Lo Celso was the player that came to Spurs [instead of Bruno Fernandes], then I would say I wouldn’t change Giovani Lo Celso for any player.
“[I wouldn’t swap Lo Celso] for any player. It’s not just for Bruno, but for any player.”
Despite scoring just twice in 30 appearances this season for Tottenham, Lo Celso has impressed with his flair and creativity, recently shining in their 2-0 home win against West Ham.
The Argentine initially found game time limited under Mourinho but has now become a key part of his plans having started 11 of Tottenham’s last 15 games in all competitions.
Mourinho has praised Lo Celso’s positive attitude and feels there is plenty more to come from the 24-year-old, who is currently playing through injury.
The Portuguese boss said: “I came to the club and he wasn’t playing. I think the only match he started was Red Star Belgrade away in the Champions League – apart from that he was not playing.
“When I arrived I went in other directions and he did exactly what I love a player to do: ‘I’m going to show you’.
“[There was] no spoiled kid reactions, no crying, no moaning, no agents and family throwing messages to the press and to the social media. It was just between him and me: ‘I’m going to show you’, and he showed me step-by-step.
“The way he was working every day, the way he was coming to matches, the way he was changing matches.
“I remember the match against Liverpool: he was on the bench, he came on for the last half-an-hour and he changed the game. The only thing that didn’t happen was us changing the result because we were so unlucky, but he changed the game.
“When he had his first start: ‘Goodbye, I give you no chance and this place is mine’. In this moment, what people can see from him is an injured player playing, or a player that during the week is not working like the others.
“He’s working with lots of different conditions to try to play and to try to resist until the end of the season so what you see from Gio now is not the end product – he’s a fantastic player for us.”
Discussion about this post