LO CELSO LOOKS LIKE REAL DEAL
Spurs loan signing ready to step up and replace Eriksen
IF GIOVANI LO CELSO can play as he did here for the rest of the season, Christian Eriksen will be a distant memory by the summer.
The Argentina midfielder is younger than Eriksen, just as creative and ready to rumble on the evidence of his performance against Southampton.
Jose Mourinho confirmed in the post-match press conference that Tottenham will activate their option to sign Lo Celso permanently from Real Betis for £27milion this month. They would be crazy not to.
Harry Winks had nothing but praise for the man whose combative run past four players began the move that set up Son Heung-Min’s opening goal.
“It took him a while to get used to all the intensity and the aggression of the league but he’s flying now and he’s been fantastic,” said the England midfielder.
“He’s starting to show his quality now and I think he’s playing in the favourite position, which is probably a little bit more central midfield. He just needs to keep going.” Daniel Levy was in the stands as the 23-year-old ran large sections of this game after impressing against Norwich last Wednesday.
Eriksen, 28 next month, heads for Inter Milan today to finalise his move, having been a serial thriller for Spurs at a bargain £11m.
Lo Celso is the future. The club did well to bring him in last summer when it was clear Eriksen, right, had no intention of signing a new deal.
Lo Celso is exactly the kind of signing needed to freshen up a Spurs side crying out for new blood.
He will have to cut out his theatrics, though. He went down as though he had been hit by Anthony Joshua after being caught accidentally by Ryan Bertrand in the second half.
“Coming from Spain it is a little bit more protected out there,” said Winks. “The referees are a little bit more lenient over here than they are out there. So it’s going to be difficult for him. In Spain I also can’t imagine him playing on pitches like we have in the winter here and against aggressive players. But he’s got the quality to deal with that.” Sofiane Boufal came off the bench to hit an equaliser, which means both teams’ winter break will have to be cut short for a replay on Wednesday week.
If Tottenham end up with the FA Cup then for Winks it will have been worth it. “It’s a trophy that we really want to win,” he said. “A trophy that we believe we’re more than capable of winning.”
SOUTHAMPTON (4-4-2): Gunn 6; Danso 5 (Boufal 71), Stephens 7, Bednarek 6, Bertrand 6; Armstrong 7 (Djenepo 43, 6) Ward-Prowse 7, Hojbjerg 6, Redmond 8; Obafemi 6 (Adams 74), Ings 8. Goal: Boufal 87.
TOTTENHAM (4-3-3): Lloris 6; Aurier 6, Sanchez 6, Alderweireld 6, Tanganga 6; Fernandes 5 (Lamela 56, 7), Winks 7, Alli 7 (Dier 88); Lo Celso 9, Moura 7, Son 8.
Goal: Son 58.