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Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has told Giovani Lo Celso that the club cannot afford to make a big bid for him until Christian Eriksen leaves, per El Confidencial.

What’s the word?

Conflicting reports have disagreed over how much Spurs bid for the attacking midfielder.

The BBC claim that an offer of £53m was tabled, while the aforementioned El Confidencial report says that the offer was closer to €40m (£35.7m).

Lo Celso has a €100m (£89.2m) release clause in his contract and the report claims that Betis are not likely to sell him for under €80m (£71.5m).

However, Pochettino is said to have told the Argentina international personally that Spurs do not have the budget to pay that until they sell Eriksen.

Eriksen has expressed his desire to leave but a move to Real Madrid now appears a non-starter, with Marca reporting that Zinedine Zidane is instead prioritising a move for Manchester United’s Paul Pogba.

Unsurprising but alarming

Most Spurs fans will be unsurprised by this update but it is still likely to feel incredibly disappointing.

The club need to invest this summer but tabling low-ball bids for players who would obviously improve them is not the way to go about doing it.

If they knew that Eriksen was likely to be central to boosting their coffers, perhaps just an enquiry should have been made for Lo Celso instead of a formal bid.

Indeed, one has to point out that many reports disagree over the size of the offer but one thing is for certain: Betis don’t think it’s enough, regardless.

Lo Celso scored 16 goals last season, while he registered six assists. He would be a marquee signing for the club but, of course, they appear to be in a holding pattern as they wait to see what happens with Eriksen.

If he stays, as now seems likely, they might have to kiss their chances of securing the Betis star goodbye.

It remains to be seen if that will actually be a good move.