Tottenham are unwilling to loan out Giovani Lo Celso in January, but Barcelona won’t give up their pursuit of the player.
The 27-year-old midfielder faces questions over his future before the trip to face Manchester City on Sunday.
Lo Celso only earned his first Premier League start of the season in the 2-1 defeat by Aston Villa last weekend, scoring the opening goal before Spurs suffered a third successive loss.
The Argentina international will now play a more prominent role under Ange Postecoglou and attempt to replace the injured James Maddison, who is expected to be out for at least another month.
Tottenham already blocked attempts from Barcelona to sign Lo Celso on loan in the summer despite allowing him to join Villarreal on a similar deal last season. They instead demanded a sizeable transfer fee, which the Catalan giants couldn’t pay.
Barcelona manager Xavi continues to push for the transfer in the January window after losing midfielder Gavi to a long-term injury.
Lo Celso is now seen as the primary transfer target at Camp Nou, but the cash-strapped side will likely have to sell players to fund any potential deal.
Lo Celso is flattered by the interest of one of Europe's biggest clubs but won't push for a move, especially now he has broken into the starting XI at Tottenham.
He has been trying to fully establish himself at Spurs since his £55million move from Real Betis in 2019.
Postecoglou spoke about Lo Celso amid his 10-man injury crisis last week, saying: "Gio will get an opportunity; others will get an opportunity in the next couple of weeks.”
