Tottenham Hotspur have endured a difficult season of transition into a new era under Jose Mourinho’s tutelage.
After years of steady development, Spurs have been brought back down to earth in a tumultuous campaign of upheaval.
A handful of key figures in the club’s recent history, namely Mauricio Pochettino, Danny Rose and Christian Eriksen, have all left the club, while Mourinho has arrived and brought in Gedson Fernandes, Steven Bergwijn and Giovani Lo Celso.
The latter was actually signed by Pochettino on an initial loan deal but it was Mourinho who made the deal permanent in January.
Amid the chaos, uncertainty and discontent surrounding the north London outfit, the Argentina international has provided a breath of fresh air and a spark of hope for the future.
With the Premier League season currently on hold due to the global pandemic, it’s an ideal time to reflect on Lo Celso’s opening to life at Spurs by assessing what’s been said about him in the public eye.
Let’s take a look…
Jose Mourinho
Mourinho was initially reluctant to include the 23-year-old midfielder in the starting XI.
In fact, Lo Celso played just seven minutes of Premier League football in the Portuguese manager’s first six in charge of the club, but he has been a prominent figure since starting in the 2-2 draw away at Norwich City prior to the turn of the year.
And shortly before Lo Celso’s move was made permanent in January, Mourinho claimed he’d earned his imminent deal and highlighted his incredible development, per football.london.
“It’s not an obligation, it’s an option. I think the boy is earning the decision. He’s making an easy decision for the club to execute the option. Incredible evolution since I arrived.
“Barely played a game, I think he played against Red Star Belgrade, with me a little bit difficult to come in the first few weeks. But he understood what we wanted. Good learner, good kid and I think by himself he made the decision that the club is going to execute the option. That’s normal, he earned it.”
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Jermaine Jenas
Now a regular part of the starting XI, the dynamic midfielder was the club’s outstanding performer in the 1-0 first leg defeat against RB Leipzig in the last-16 of the Champions League.
In the second leg he was powerless to prevent Spurs from suffering a humbling 3-0 defeat, and he was even withdrawn from proceedings at 2-0 down.
Following that decision by the manager, BT Sport pundit Jermaine Jenas alluded to the player’s rising stature, per BT Sport (via HITC).
“You’d probably argue that he’s Spurs most important player at the minute, so it felt like wrap him up and get him ready for the weekend.”
Ossie Ardiles
Receiving a glowing endorsement from Ossie Ardiles is about as good as it gets for an Argentinian Spurs player.
And that’s exactly what Lo Celso got earlier this week, with the Lilywhites icon talking up his compatriot’s maturity while speaking to Tottenham’s official website.
“He’s very skilful… look, everyone is skilful, but what makes you different is what is in your head, and even though he’s very young, I don’t want to say he has an older head, but he has a more experienced head on his shoulders. He’s a very, very good player and he can go from strength to strength.”
If he does indeed go from strength to strength, the combative playmaker could establish himself as the beating heart of Spurs’ midfield.