Tottenham have confirmed the signings of Giovani Lo Celso and Ryan Sessegnon from Real Betis and Fulham respectively as Mauricio Pochettino’s patience was finally rewarded on a tense transfer deadline day.
While attempts to sign Paulo Dybala broke down after the two parties failed to agree a deal over the player’s image rights, the moves for his Argentina teammate Lo Celso from Real Betis and England youth international Sessegnon from Fulham proved more successful with both players confirmed within an hour of the window shutting.
The deal for Lo Celso, who has joined initially on a season-long loan with Spurs obliged to pay up to £60m to make his deal permanent should they qualify for the Champions League, was first to be ratified before confirmation that Sessegnon had signed a five-year deal with the option of an extension. The fee for the 19-year-old is believed to be around £25m up front.
“We are delighted to announce the signing of Ryan Sessegnon from Fulham,” read a statement on Tottenham’s website. “The 19-year-old has signed a contract with the Club until 2025 and will wear the number 19 shirt.”
Pochettino is a long-standing admirer of Sessegnon, who can also play further up the field. He made his first team debut for Fulham aged 16 years and 81 days in 2016 and was outstanding as the club were promoted to the Premier League in 2018.
But while the teenager is expected to be used in a more defensive role under the Argentinian manager, attempts to offload Danny Rose to Watford failed after Spurs rejected a bid. He is now set to compete with Sessegnon for the left-back berth.
Tottenham had agreed personal terms with Dybala and were close to finding a deal with Juventus but the issue of the image rights proved too difficult to solve. Juventus were keen to sell the player to ease their wage bill but he will now stay and fight for a place in Maurizio Sarri’s first XI.
Manchester United had been interested in signing the 25-year-old as well but that move also failed to materialise largely because of the image rights issue.
