FC Barcelona had Giovani Lo Celso within reach in the last summer market. The Argentine was one of the options that, along with Guido Rodríguez, Xavi Hernández liked the most. After the departure of the Egarense, the board changed its roadmap in terms of signings and, due to the club's financial problems, the pivot position, in theory a priority, was left without reinforcements.
Hansi Flick opted for the kids (Marc Bernal and Marc Casadó) as the main alternatives for a midfield with little depth after the departure of Ílkay Gündogan. The club also brought back Eric García, who along with Andreas Christensen can assume the central midfield role until Frenkie de Jong and Gavi return. However, Bernal's injury and Lo Celso's good start to the season at Real Betis open the debate regarding the Barça decision not to sign the Argentine or another 'low cost' alternative in August.
Lo Celso agrees with Xavi: The best pivot of September in LaLiga
The Argentine returned to Betis on the last day of the summer market in exchange for 5 million euros. Tottenham negotiated downwards for his departure after coach Ange Postecoglou's decision to discard the 28-year-old player, for whom the 'spurs' paid 32 million euros to the 'green and white' team in 2020. With Isco injured, Lo Celso has taken command of the Andalusian midfield, being the 'MVP' in three of the four games he has played.
'Gio' has 4 goals in 4 games (279 minutes) and an average of 85% successful passes, numbers with which he was nominated for the best player of September in LaLiga along with Lamine Yamal, Kylian Mbappé, Iñaki Williams and Carlos Vicente. In a Betis lacking depth and goals, the Argentine has shouldered the team to support Manuel Pellegrini's team in the middle of the standings. In the end, Xavi was right about his insistence on Rosario.