Jose Mourinho has admitted that he wants to see more from Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Giovani Lo Celso. Despite an impressive performance against Ludogorets in the Europa League, Mourinho has questioned the Argentine’s fitness.
Muscle injuries have hampered the 24-year-old’s consistency this season, and he has seen his minutes limited as a result.
Jose Mourinho Calls For Giovani Lo Celso to Improve Fitness
Polarising Reaction
Spurs’ bounce-back 3-1 victory in Bulgaria comes as a relief for certain members of Mourinho’s squad, including Lo Celso.
The Argentine was one of four players hauled off at half-time last week in the 1-0 defeat to Antwerp.
Lo Celso was given another chance to prove his worth to Mourinho against Ludogorets and did exactly that. A stellar performance was marked with a goal, which capped off a fine and incisive passing move.
Despite completing over 70 minutes, Spurs manager Jose Mourinho believes Lo Celso is still not operating at full capacity.
“Good with the ball and not very good without the ball,” Mourinho told football.london. “His physical condition is not good. He didn’t have a preseason.
“During the lockdown during the previous season he had problems. He didn’t train in that period when other guys were training so he has been up and down in his preparation. So he’s been coming now, step by step.”
Ability to Improve
Mourinho has recently hinted he would like to feature Lo Celso alongside French starlet Tanguy Ndombele in the Spurs midfield.
Ndombele has established himself as a key figure in the Spurs team after heavy criticism from Mourinho for his effort and work rate.
The signing of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg from Southampton has provided extra stability in midfield, allowing others in the side to perform more freely.
But Mourinho still reinforces that Ndombele and Lo Celso are not at the required level to partner each other.
“I feel that when he plays he’s not the Gio that we know, not the Gio that we know can be an amazing player,” Mourinho added. “With the ball of course great criteria and he knows what he’s doing, and understands the way we want to play. But we need more intensity to be fitter, to be more intense and to be stronger in the transitions.
“But of course he played more than an hour, and for that hour of course was a football match that we needed to win but it was also let’s say, a training session to improve his match fitness.”
Spurs travel to West Bromwich Albion at the weekend, a fixture which will likely see Lo Celso’s minutes managed.
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