Jose Mourinho comments on Gio Lo Celso, discusses potential Tottenham partnership

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Jose Mourinho has told his post-Brighton press conference – as per Football London – that Tottenham midfielder Gio Lo Celso needs to improve his fitness, and discussed whether the Argentine could combine with Tanguy Ndombele.

Lo Celso, 24, has started just four matches this season – only one of which has come in the Premier League. Clocking up nine appearances in total, the former Paris Saint-Germain and Real Betis ace has scored twice – both coming against Maccabi Heifa.

The playmaker was one of the first names on the team sheet last season but his struggling fitness has limited him to a rotation role. The form of Tanguy Ndombele has also kept Lo Celso out of the side – but Lo Celso did come on against Brighton.

Some fans have called for a three-man midfield that would see Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg act as a one-man pivot – behind Ndombele and Lo Celso, with Moussa Sissoko dropped. Mourinho discussed Lo Celso’s fitness and whether he could play with Ndombele.

“Gio brought that dynamic back to the team for the last 20 minutes,” Mourinho said. “He did well for us. He is a player that needs to work, no pre-season. He needs to recover his fitness levels; it was easy to see at Antwerp he didn’t have that fitness.

“To play with a Number 10, with that freedom, yes he could help us. Can he play one day together with Tanguy, yes they can but they both need to be physically in a better condition,” Mourinho added, on £70,000-a-week (Spotrac) star Lo Celso.

TBR’s view – Lo Celso can still be a crucial Tottenham player

The midfielder showed last season, when fit, that he was more than capable of changing games for Tottenham – even if Mourinho’s men proved somewhat inconsistent during the second half of the campaign.

With everyone fit and at their best, Lo Celso is likely to be considered a starter. Alongside Ndombele, or an in-form Dele Alli and in front of Hojbjerg or Sissoko, Spurs boast an excellent midfield that can take them into the top four.

But until Lo Celso remains without the required levels of fitness, Spurs will have to rely on £54million (BBC) club-record signing Ndombele to add creativity from midfield.