Sport Witness

Last month, Tottenham Hotspur allowed Alejo Véliz to join Espanyol on a season-long loan deal.

The striker joined Tottenham from Rosario Central in August 2023 and clocked in 45 minutes from eight games for Spurs. He then moved to Sevilla on loan in January, where he managed 31 minutes from six matches.

Ange Postecoglou didn’t include Véliz in his plans this season, resulting in Tottenham letting him go out on loan to Espanyol.

AS say the 20-year-old’s ‘path in Europe hasn’t been easy’, but he’s ‘happy again’ at Espanyol.

At the weekend, he scored the winner in the 96th minute against Rayo Vallecano, to help the club secure their first win of the season.

The Spanish club and their manager, Manolo González, conveyed their ‘trust and faith’ in the Tottenham man, before his arrival. He had a difficult year since joining Tottenham and made this clear after scoring his first goal for Espanyol.

“It was a very big relief. I’ve come from a year in which I have not had a good time in terms of football. I want to thank my family, my girlfriend who always supported me,” he said, quoted by AS.

“To the coaching staff for giving me the chance to come here, to my teammates and to all these people for always supporting us.”

The goal against Rayo Vallecano was his second since arriving in Europe a year ago.

“It was something that I had been looking for, that I wasn’t getting. I had a thorn in my side. Goals are very important for strikers,” Véliz explained.

“I made up my mind that maybe it’s just a streak, that the goal wasn’t opening up for me, but I was thinking about contributing as much as I could to the team. I knew the goal was going to come, it came today and hopefully many more to come.”

Despite playing just games, AS say Espanyol and Véliz feel that he has ‘found his place’ at the Spanish club. González trusts him and his teammates are ‘amazed’ with his finishing in training.

The report adds the Tottenham owned player has already made the Espanyol fans forget about last season’s star, Martin Braithwaite. He scored 22 goals and left as a free agent in the summer.

Tottenham’s Sergio Reguilón will continue to assess his options after failing to secure a move away from the club on deadline day.

That’s according to AS, who say the full-back finds himself in a ‘labyrinth’ at Tottenham after failing to find an exit on the final day of the window.

The market has now closed, and the Spaniard did not leave Tottenham, leaving him in an awkward situation as he is not registered in the Premier League or Europa League squads. He has to find a solution to his future, with everything indicating he would find a new club at some point this summer but that not happening before the window closed.

His options are now limited as the top five leagues in Europe have now closed their windows. That leaves Reguilón looking to at options such as Portugal, Türkiye or Saudi Arabia.

At this point the defender’s future ‘remains undefined’, with him clearly not in Tottenham’s plans but with no interest from other clubs at this moment in time.

A departure somewhere is considered a ‘foregone conclusion’ at this point, it’s just a question of where and when as the options dwindle following deadline day.

On Friday, Tottenham Hotspur confirmed that they have reached an agreement with Real Betis for the transfer of Giovani Lo Celso.

Real Betis president Ángel Haro García had a chat with the local reporters, relayed by Diario de Sevilla. He revealed the 28-year-old could arrive in Spain today, to complete the transfer from Tottenham to the La Liga side.

The Argentina international will carry out the medical tests with Real Betis in the next few hours. He will then join the national team for the upcoming international break.

“Yes, the idea is that he will probably travel tomorrow [Saturday], although he also has a commitment with the national team, he will have to leave again with his national team, but well, we can enjoy a bit of time,” he said.

The La Liga side were in the market for a new midfielder, after Nabil Fekir decided to leave them from UAE based side Al Jazira. The president claims his side had a “great challenge” to replace the Frenchman.

Real Betis identified Lo Celso and Real Madrid’s Dani Ceballos as the main targets, before deciding to bet on the South American.

When the reporters quizzed the president whether the former Arsenal man was on an option, he revealed why his side decided to sign Lo Celso.

“Well, we had two or three top options open, for us these options were the ones you are talking about as a very good option, and then we finally opted for Gio,” Ángel Haro García explained.

“Well, they are options that open, each market has its particularity, in this case it seemed that a window was opening, but as I said, we also had another window and other open players.”

“I would like to talk about the players we have, the issue of Dani could have been a possibility, but I am very satisfied with Gio, a great player, we already know him at the club and we have to focus on giving him love and he surely gives us great joy.”

Spurs initially took Lo Celso on loan from Real Betis in 2019 and made his stay permanent in January 2020. The midfielder scored 10 goals and registered eight assists from 108 games for Tottenham.

Both Marca and ABC Sevilla are reporting Tottenham and Real Betis have come to an agreement for the transfer of Giovani Lo Celso.

The Seville club have long wanted to take the player back but developments this week, the failure to get Dani Ceballos from Real Madrid and seeing Nabil Fekir leaving, have meant a serious step forward for the Argentina international.

Marca report the two clubs are ‘currently finalising an agreement’. They state Betis advanced talks by offering €5m for 50% of Lo Celso (so Spurs would get 50% of a future sale), and future rights on Johnny Cardoso.

They believe that would see Tottenham being able to get him at a set price or receive a percentage if he went elsewhere, but the details from Marca are sketchy on that.

Over at ABC Sevilla they say there’s an ‘agreement in principle’ for Lo Celso to return to Betis for €5m, plus a preferential right on a future transfer of Cardoso.

Whilst the deal isn’t completed, it’s insisted there’s confidence at Betis that it will be.

On Thursday, we covered claims from Spain which stated Real Betis only wanted to sign Giovani Lo Celso from Tottenham if he was available on a free transfer.

Presumably, they wanted to Spurs to cancel the final months of his contract, sort out any financial issues between the two parties, and then send him to Seville as a free agent.

Marca now have it slightly differently, which may be related to a failed move for Dani Ceballos. Betis had been trying to sign the Real Madrid midfielder but any hope of a transfer fell apart in the final days of the window.

Therefore, it’s stated Betis have made a €6m offer to Tottenham for Lo Celso. They’re currently awaiting a response from Spurs regarding that offer.

PSV Eindhoven’s Olivier Boscagli could get a move to a club like Tottenham Hotspur if he were to give up on Brighton & Hove Albion today.

That’s at least what Voetbal Primeur journalist Dennie van Laar claims, and his quotes are relayed by PSV Fans.

Van Laar believes the likes of Tottenham, Napoli and Atlético Madrid could come forward to sign him in 2025. Therefore, he should snub Brighton and continue at the Eredivisie side.

The centre-back has less than a year left on his contract. Earlier claims have stated he absolutely wants to join Brighton before the window closes later today, but PSV rejected their €10m bid.

On Thursday, Eindhovens Dagblad reported the Seagulls would make an improved bid to sign the 26-year-old, but PSV have decided not to let him leave in this window. Van Laar insists Tottenham could be one of the options, if he were to be available on a free transfer in 2025.

“But he can also just wait, because you will soon be a free agent. Then you really laugh your head off. You can then sign for Napoli, Atlético Madrid or Spurs. I’m really convinced of that,” he said.

“If he stays fit now, he will sign with a big bag of signing money [signing on bonus] at a dream club next year with a smile. I wouldn’t go completely crazy about Brighton.”

It’s to be noted there hasn’t been any concrete claims yet of Tottenham showing interest in the Brighton target. Van Laar is suggesting that Boscagli could join Spurs or two other clubs next summer, if he decides to continue at PSV this season.

Real Betis are continuing to try and get Giovanni Lo Celso from Tottenham, but Spurs are refusing to budge and remaining ‘tough’ in negotiations.

That’s according to Mucho Deporte and ABC Sevilla, who report that Tottenham won’t move on the Argentine and wouldn’t mind keeping him.

ABC report that Betis are currently doing two parallel operations for Dani Ceballos and Lo Celso as they look to add a midfielder on deadline day.

Both are proving to be difficult to deal with, though, despite neither player being considered key players.

Tottenham have asked for €15m for their man, despite the fact he is in the final year of his deal. They’ve turned down an offer from Betis to take over a percentage of the player’s rights.

Lo Celso is ‘seduced’ by the idea of a return to his former club, but Tottenham want to recover some of the €48m they paid to sign him. Betis are planning to make an effort again today. Similarly, Lo Celso is putting pressure on to try and make a move happen.

Mucho Deporte report similar, stating that Lo Celso is ‘delighted and crazy’ to return to his former club, but Tottenham remain ‘tough’.

They aren’t desperate for the money from a sale and would even mind keeping Lo Celso despite the fact he has a year left on his deal.

They won’t drop below their €15m asking price and that’s a problem for Betis, who simply cannot afford that price.

They’re still working on it, hoping to find an agreement somehow, but there’s not much optimism in Seville that it will happen.

Estadio Deportivo report Real Betis will only sign Giovani Lo Celso from Tottenham Hotspur if Spurs let him move as a free agent.

The Argentina international has less than a year left on his contract with the Premier League and is very much out of Ange Postecoglou’s plans. Claims earlier this week said Lo Celso felt the manager didn’t keep to his word last season when it came to chances given, and there’s been communication problems this summer too.

Real Betis and Aston Villa would only sign Lo Celso if he’s a free agent, and Tottenham are apparently refusing to make that happen. They obviously believe there’s still the chance of getting a transfer fee.

Regardless of that, it’s made clear the player ‘doesn’t want to go to Birmingham’, despite the best efforts of Unai Emery and Monchi at Aston Villa.

That’s nothing against Aston Villa specifically, Lo Celso wants to leave English football entirely, clearly a little bruised by his difficult period at Tottenham.

Estadio Deportivo report Real Betis will only sign Giovani Lo Celso from Tottenham Hotspur if Spurs let him move as a free agent.

The Argentina international has less than a year left on his contract with the Premier League and is very much out of Ange Postecoglou’s plans. Claims earlier this week said Lo Celso felt the manager didn’t keep to his word last season when it came to chances given, and there’s been communication problems this summer too.

Real Betis and Aston Villa would only sign Lo Celso if he’s a free agent, and Tottenham are apparently refusing to make that happen. They obviously believe there’s still the chance of getting a transfer fee.

Regardless of that, it’s made clear the player ‘doesn’t want to go to Birmingham’, despite the best efforts of Unai Emery and Monchi at Aston Villa.

That’s nothing against Aston Villa specifically, Lo Celso wants to leave English football entirely, clearly a little bruised by his difficult period at Tottenham.

There’s a claim in the Turkish press that Besiktas have stepped up their pursuit of Tottenham Hotspur defender Sergio Reguilon.

The Spaniard has been told he can leave the Premier League side this summer and has been linked with a move to the Super Lig in recent weeks.

Spor Sayfa today reports on the latest developments regarding Besiktas’ instance that they bring in a left back during this transfer window. It’s claimed Reguilon is still on the radar of the Black Eagles and they’ve intensified their contacts with the player.

Reguilon looks surplus to requirements at Tottenham and along with Besiktas he’s also been linked with a move to Galatasaray this month.

There have been reports of a possible return to La Liga, with Sevilla and Barcelona said to be monitoring his situation with Spurs.

The defender spent last season on loan at Manchester United and Brentford after finding himself frozen out at Tottenham. Reguilon is contracted to the north London club until June 2025.

Turkey’s transfer window runs until September 13th.