Player Watch Player Watch: Giovani Lo Celso

[DannyNZ]

I think Maddison is more moments but GLC is more action. He constantly keeps the ball moving into attacking spaces, but what I love about him is he doesn't have to be the one that plays it into spaces, he will move the ball to the player that can. If we could find a way to have both on the pitch then we could have some serious quality creativity in the team.

And GLC can do the full midfielder duties on the defensive side too

Against limited teams like Luton I can’t see why you couldn’t play Gio and Maddison, provided the number 6 does his job unlike Biss today.

 

[DannyNZ]

If you want to keep the ball and control the game, these two should be the first names in the midfield.

They just get pass and move football...

Totally agree and with a front three of Werner, Son and Johnson you need players that have the passing edge and that is Gio and Bent. Maddison needs to pull his socks up as GLC should be given a run.

 

[Misfit]

Injuries have been the issue. Never able to stay healthy long enough to lock down a position, especially in peoples' minds. Combine that with the managerial merry-go-round and here we are. His talent has never been in doubt.

I'm actually slightly surprised he's made that many appearances for us tbh.

 

[BPR_U16]

Totally agree and with a front three of Werner, Son and Johnson you need players that have the passing edge and that is Gio and Bent. Maddison needs to pull his socks up as GLC should be given a run.

Gio deserves more game, injuries really impacted what he could do for team.

Moves the ball well, keeps a tempo and reads a game well.

Presently having bigger influence on play than Maddison who is living off his level at start of season.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

If you want to keep the ball and control the game, these two should be the first names in the midfield.

They just get pass and move football...

Spot on

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

When fit, under Ange I don’t remember GLC performing anything below 7/10.

Absolute baller imo just needs to stay fit.

So so hope we keep him. We will need him big time when we are back in Europe.

 

[BorjeSpurs]

Below shows his injury record for the seasons he's been with us. 22/23 he was on a full season loan and the same with half of 21/22.

Averaging the games missed through injury over 3,5 seasons = ~17 missed matches per season.

The below does not take into account the injury at Villareal that made him miss the World Cup and almost 2 months of football last season.

Would be very surprised if we renew his contract in the summer.

 

[DannyNZ]

Below shows his injury record for the seasons he's been with us. 22/23 he was on a full season loan and the same with half of 21/22.

Averaging the games missed through injury over 3,5 seasons = ~17 missed matches per season.

The below does not take into account the injury at Villareal that made him miss the World Cup and almost 2 months of football last season.

Would be very surprised if we renew his contract in the summer.

View attachment 139083

Cost a fortune to buy and replace his quality, has been a good contributor under Ange and as effective as Maddison. Plenty of other areas needing strengthening that will cost, don’t see the point in not renewing his contract. Under Ange GLC has been available as much as Madders, VDV and Bent, injuries are a bitch and quite random.

 

[Ghost Hardware]

Below shows his injury record for the seasons he's been with us. 22/23 he was on a full season loan and the same with half of 21/22.

Averaging the games missed through injury over 3,5 seasons = ~17 missed matches per season.

The below does not take into account the injury at Villareal that made him miss the World Cup and almost 2 months of football last season.

Would be very surprised if we renew his contract in the summer.

View attachment 139083

The injury debate is well covered ground at this juncture. I completely get your point and yes you are probably right that it will likely play a major part of our stance towards him come summer. But I also don’t think it’s a forgone conclusion ether.

By comparison this is Maddison’s injury history for the same period. They really aren’t too dissimilar. In the same period of time Gio has only missed 12 more games then Maddison yet we were content to spend 40 mil on him and give him a contract of 170k p/w.

Also if you look at Solomon’s injury history for the same period it’s also not a particularly great read. Awful in fact. Yes I know he was a free transfer so on paper less of a risk but no transfer is truly free. We still him a contract of 60k p/w, only 10k less then Gio, and obviously had that friendly with Shakhtar which we gave them all the proceeds of.

Point is although you are most likely right that ultimately injuries will likely cause us to offload him I don’t think it’s a certainty yet ether. I also don’t think it’s that straightforward ether. We know many clubs round Europe like him and every window there seems to be interest. He’s an excellent player after all. But most clubs in Europe don’t have money. Villa did supposedly have strong interest in him at one point and yes they might be willing to pay what we want but beyond that im not so sure. I also don’t like the idea of selling him to them. In general with one year left on his contract and most clubs finances being what they are I expect most offers to be very low.

Ultimately there might well be an argument come summer for keeping him being more beneficial to us even with his injury issues then selling him for low fee. Fact is in many of the games he’s played he’s actually made a difference and that is what you need from your squad players.

A lot will come down to Ange’s view on him I think. If he believes Gio can be a part of what he’s trying to build moving forward. Ability wise I think there is no question but we only see him in matches, we don’t have the medical reports or see him in training.

My own personal stance is that I want us to keep him because he does add something to the squad, he’s a very talented player who’s game seems be getting better and has consistently effected games he’s been involved with in the new system. That to me is worth the injuries. He’s also not on a significantly large contract by today’s standards and the money we would make from selling him probably wouldn’t be much. Certainly not enough to get another player of his ability. For me the pros outweigh the cons. But I can understand the argument ether way and yes we need to see how he does over the rest of the season.

 

[jolsnogross]

He'll be sold, and should be, if we fetch a decent price for him. We can't persist with players that aren't performing or are very often unavailable. Decent player, but we'll take a loss on him since he's underperformed so poorly relative to his arrival.
He may be better off elsewhere too.

 

[Dakes]

100 up for Gio, and yet he still somehow feels peripheral. To the core squad, and perhaps even at the club. Never quite fully integrated. An outsider in some sense. His face popping up in a training-ground vid is always seems both familiar but surprising. It's a slightly curious case.

This is exactly how I’ve always felt about him. Here but not here kinda thing.

 

[Gassin's finest]

He'll be sold, and should be, if we fetch a decent price for him. We can't persist with players that aren't performing or are very often unavailable. Decent player, but we'll take a loss on him since he's underperformed so poorly relative to his arrival.
He may be better off elsewhere too.

It's been nearly 5 years, and we're still talking about what ifs with him. I mean, come on.

 

[newbie]

It's been nearly 5 years, and we're still talking about what ifs with him. I mean, come on.

the sad thing is On the ball his so good.

 

[Krafty]

So difficult with Gio. Feel like if we clicked as a team just a little more, Gio would be a very useful part of the team. Being fit for a prolonged period would also help.

if this was his second season with us then certainly keep, but if Ange doesn’t want to keep him then content with that decision.

 

[Japhet]

Lovely cameo and just what you'd expect from him. Moves the ball quickly and intelligently, looks to get involved constantly, gets stuck in defensively and finds pockets of space around the 18 yd area. Put some of the others to shame really so I think he's earned a start v WHU. Maddison, Kulusevski and Bissouma in particular need a wake up call right now.

 

[Ghost Hardware]

He'll be sold, and should be, if we fetch a decent price for him. We can't persist with players that aren't performing or are very often unavailable. Decent player, but we'll take a loss on him since he's underperformed so poorly relative to his arrival.
He may be better off elsewhere too.

Fair enough if that is your opinion, im sure you are not alone on that but by that logic we should also sell Maddison (11 games missed) VDV (12 games missed) and Solomon (25 games). Gio has missed 13 games thus far and when he’s played he’s performed very well.

We started the season with a blank slate for all the players. It is very clear that a number of our squad never fit the tactics of Conte, Nuno and even Jose. Gio has proven on the pitch he is good enough for the team, the league and he fits the system. I agree he has injury issues but he’s not alone in that and he hasn’t been significantly more than others this season. If you’re going to sell players purely because they miss over 10 games a season then he’s not alone on that front.

 

[BPR_U16]

So difficult with Gio. Feel like if we clicked as a team just a little more, Gio would be a very useful part of the team. Being fit for a prolonged period would also help.

if this was his second season with us then certainly keep, but if Ange doesn’t want to keep him then content with that decision.

Issue for GLC is that he was bought for Poch, got injured and Poch went.
This is first time he really has a manager that his style of play suits.
We will spend more on a replacement than we will get for Gio and would not guarantee skill set would be so high.
If Ange happy to keep I certainly am, for it also gives time for our youngsters coming thru another season to develop with loans etc. We are more lacking in other areas imho

 

[Japhet]

Issue for GLC is that he was bought for Poch, got injured and Poch went.
This is first time he really has a manager that his style of play suits.
We will spend more on a replacement than we will get for Gio and would not guarantee skill set would be so high.
If Ange happy to keep I certainly am, for it also gives time for our youngsters coming thru another season to develop with loans etc. We are more lacking in other areas imho

Couldn't agree more. We could go out and spend big money on a GLC replacement which would necessitate a long contract, but that would probably impede Bergval and maybe Donley also. GLC's experience and skillset would be a huge + if we get into Europe and he can also cover several positions. I'd definitely keep him on that basis, and especially since he now seems happy and has a manager who wants to actually play football.

 

[adamsky]

I do like Gio but unless he breaks into the team and has an outstanding end of season, I can’t see him signing a new contract. He would be mad to sign a new one whilst being a squad player. As everyone has said, we can’t let him leave for free so it is probably best if we sell in the summer.

Hopefully Bergvall is a ready made replacement in squad and has more opportunities to shine without another player in his path.

 

[Spurs 1961]

Have always liked Gio just such a shame he has been injured so much. OK he is not Modric but can do a similar job and I think could get better. But can he stay fit? It's a gamble