Highlights
EmAston Villa won't be signing Tottenham's Giovani Lo Celso, despite reports of a swap deal with Jacob Ramsey.
Tottenham keen on Ramsey, but Villa are reluctant to sell him for Spurs' cash offer, ending potential deal.
Monchi, Villa's sporting director, has not approved the Lo Celso deal despite Unai Emery's connection to the player.
Aston Villa are in the market for new, excellent recruits after stunningly securing a Champions League place last season via a fourth-placed finish in the Premier League - but one star that they won't be completing a deal for just now is Tottenham Hotspur star Giovani Lo Celso, with Ben Jacobs exclusively telling GIVEMESPORT that Villa sporting director Monchi hasn't bought into a deal to sign him despite Unai Emery's love for the player.
Lo Celso played under Emery at Paris Saint-Germain for two seasons, winning the domestic treble in his second season under the Spaniard; and the duo linked up again at Villarreal in 2021/22 before another half season on the eastern Spanish coast prior to Emery's move to the west Midlands.
Reports have emerged that a swap deal could be done that would see cash plus the Argentine - who Emery reportedly wants - move to Villa Park in exchange for Jacob Ramsey, but Jacobs believes that Villa's top brass are not on the same page when it comes to signing Lo Celso.
Lo Celso Could be Part of Tottenham and Villa Swap
The midfielder is on the peripherals of a first-team spot in London
Reports over the past week stated that Tottenham were in talks with Villa over a deal that would bring Jacob Ramsey to north London; with Lo Celso heading to Villa Park alongside Ramsey and another Tottenham player heading to the midlands.
GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: Giovani Lo Celso has 56 caps for Argentina but just three goals to boot.
Spurs are thought to be keen on Ramsey and Villa value him at £50million, per Football Insider - with Tottenham offering players to reduce their cash outlay. However, the report suggested that Villa are reluctant to sell him and having already gotten rid of Douglas Luiz, there is no need for a deal to be made between the two clubs any longer.
Jacobs: Monchi "Not Bought in" on Lo Celso
The Villa sporting director isn't convinced by the deal
Speaking exclusively to GIVEMESPORT, Jacobs stated that Villa would be hard-pressed to sell their homegrown star and as a result, even Lo Celso coming the other way would not be an ideal swap for them to partake in. He said:
"I think Tottenham will struggle to progress with Jacob Ramsey, unless they put very serious and un-Daniel Levy-like money on the table. And even though we are hearing new reports of the same swap deal surfacing, it's basically the same package that was presented before the financial deadline.
"And Aston Villa don't want to lose Jacob Ramsey, and it's likely therefore that big money will have to be put on the table.
"Of course, the advantage of Lo Celso that Tottenham are using is the fact that he played under Unai Emery at Paris Saint-Germain and Villarreal, but there is no indication that Monchi, who is equally as important, has bought in on that deal yet."
Lo Celso's Tottenham Career Hasn't Been Fruitful
The midfielder hasn't breached first-team territory
Lo Celso joined Tottenham five years ago, but after an initial loan spell, he hasn't quite had the impact imagined of him in north London following a permanent £27m deal.
Just 77 first-team appearances in the Premier League in those five years, alongside two separate loan spells to Villarreal, means that he isn't fully in their first-team plans - and even if he doesn't find a move to Villa in the summer, he could go elsewhere.