Giovani Lo Celso continues to be linked with a move away from Tottenham Hotspur in the Italian and Spanish media despite numerous reports in the UK that he’s happy and willing to be a part of Ange Postecoglou’s new project at Spurs. Gio got his first minutes as a second half substitute in the win at Bournemouth this Saturday and comported himself well. When asked in embargoed press release comments ahead of tomorrow’s League Cup match at Fulham, Postecoglou confirmed that he’s happy with Gio’s performance and that he will feature in tomorrow’s 2nd round cup match.
“As I said yesterday, [Gio] has been a bit unlucky. He did well when he came on for us. I thought all the subs did well when he came on for us. I thought all the subs did really well just to help us control the game.
“We’ve got a game Tuesday night and he’ll play. It will be, for want of a better word, a fun week. We’ve got plenty going on for sure. I’m just dealing with what’s in front of me. Unless I get told otherwise, I’ll work with the group I’ve got and focus on Tuesday night.”
Postecoglou has already promised rotation in tomorrow’s match, though we don’t know yet what that will look like. It does seem likely however that we will get extended minutes or even starts from players such as Lo Celso, Manor Solomon, Ivan Perisic, Oliver Skipp, and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, and possibly others.
This week also marks the last few days of the transfer window, which closes at 11 p.m. UK on Friday, Sept. 1. Postecoglou was asked about outgoing players, specifically Tanguy Ndombele, who doesn’t appear to have a future at Spurs under Big Ange, and who has rejected several overtures from clubs in Turkey. Ange seemed to confirm that Tanguy’s likely not going to play much if he stays, and that the club is still working to find solutions in the transfer market for him, and other unnamed players.
“Tanguy is in a boat with a few other guys. I said the other day that we’ve got five or six players more than we can name on a list. All these things come down to decisions that people make, whether it’s individual players, whether it’s myself. We’ve got four or five in that boat. I’m sure this week those kind of things will work themselves out.
“He’s still training. He’s working hard at training. But that midfield area, we’re going really well at the minute. You saw the guys who started today, Skippy’s been really good, Pierre and Gio have been training well. It’s been pretty competitive in that area. I think this week a lot of those things I expect to get resolved.”
And if fans were at all concerned that due to the team’s expected rotation ahead of the Fulham match it means Ange might not take the cup competitions as seriously as the Premier League, he seemed to assuage those concerns with his final comments.
“I love winning. I don’t care what it is. I love winning and the players know that. We have a game on Tuesday and I want to win. That is all I am thinking.
“I don’t care if it is a cup competition or whatever it is, playing in the car park or on a rooftop. We just need to go out there and try to win because I love winning. That will be the message.”
Spurs’ second round Carabao Cup match against Fulham kicks off at 2:45 p.m. ET / 7:45 p.m. UK on Tuesday. The match is not televised, but will be streamed on ESPN+ in the USA.
