Tottenham Hotspur, in their desperate quest to end their trophy hoodoo, have been known to make some questionable transfer decisions in recent years.

Most managers who have come since Mauricio Pochettino have been handed hefty finances to fund their ambitions, yet the Lilywhites remain without a recent major honour. Thus far, it has even proven a task too far for serial winners Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, as the hierarchy strayed from their usual model of a manager to prioritise such a feat.

But, as the aforementioned Argentine earned steady progress with his team, he too was afforded more artistic license in the transfer market, which inevitably became his downfall.

One of his, and the club's, worst financial moves was the one to sign Giovani Lo Celso, given how little he has offered since a mouth-watering fee tempted him from Real Betis.

It marks a deal that cost the club greatly and continues to do so whilst he plies his trade in Spain once more.

How much has Giovani Lo Celso cost Spurs?

Fresh from their Champions League final disappointment, Pochettino was at the apex of his Spurs career having taken them as far in the competition as they had ever been.

Famous victories over Ajax and Manchester City saw them stumble through the knockout stages, and Lo Celso could have been seen as the final piece of the puzzle to push them over the line to consistently compete with Europe's elite.

However, the £55m fee was somewhat inflated by the 16 goals and six assists he had notched from central midfield the season prior. But in his debut season in North London, he would fail to score in the Premier League and has since featured just 84 times across a three-year spell, failing to make his mark.

The 26-year-old was even lambasted for his conduct whilst at the club, where ex-Premier League forward Noel Whelan slammed him and his compatriot Cristian Romero as "disrespectful" for their antics during the pandemic.

Such has been his downturn, he made the aforementioned move on loan to Villarreal where he has continued his distinctly average form - playing eight times in the league this season. 

Whilst the move freed up his wages for the year-and-a-half he is set to be gone for, that does not expunge the three years he spent earning £70k-per-week whilst being branded a "flop" by journalist Jack Pitt-Brooke.

Therefore, he has cost Daniel Levy an astronomical total sum of £65.9m thus far, including wages and his transfer fee, and will likely continue to do such unless they find a permanent buyer in the summer. 

It perhaps proves that Spurs should not stray too far from their usual business model, as it represents too big a risk to trust these kind of funds to anyone; not even the great Pochettino.