Tottenham Hotspur could finally end their Giovani Lo Celso nightmare as the midfielder edges closer towards an exit...

What's the word?

Italian transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has delivered an update on the situation on Twitter, he said:

"Villarreal are pushing to sign Lo Celso as soon as possible, while Fiorentina will try to enter the race until the end as he’s [a] top priority for their manager Italiano.

"Villarreal are in talks for Lo Celso on loan with buy option clause that could become mandatory."

Time's up

It just hasn't worked out for the Argentina international at Hotspur Way, having joined in a joint club-record £55m deal from Real Betis back in the summer of 2019.

Mauricio Pochettino was the manager at the time and it was widely touted that Lo Celso would be the man to replace Christian Eriksen's creative void at the club but now three years on, that couldn't be further from the truth.

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Across 84 appearances, the 26-year-old midfielder has delivered eight goals and six assists, averaging one direct goal contribution every 328 minutes, which is some way off the standard that the Dane set across a seven-year spell, where he scored or assisted every 152 minutes.

Considering the fact that the Argentine is also earning wages in the region of £100k-per-week, he has been nothing short of a financial nightmare for chairman Daniel Levy and the current coaching setup at Tottenham.

His influence and reputation around the dressing room hasn't been good either. football.london reporter Alasdair Gold once suggested that he's "a little bit awkward" to be around.

In the 156 weeks that he's been contracted to the club, Lo Celso has cost around £70.6m when factoring in his wages in that time and his transfer fee. That's £5m per goal contribution.

An eye-warering figure and only further reason to why Spurs must shift him in at all costs this summer.

Whilst the move to Villarreal may initially be a loan, it seems as if this time, there will be a mandatory option to buy, and that should leave many around N17 absolutely delighted.

AND in other news, Paratici could sign another Romero as The Athletic journo drops Spurs transfer update...