Villarreal have signed Giovani Lo Celso on loan once again from Spurs for the 2022/23 season. The 26-year-old Argentine moved from the North London club to Spain in the January transfer window in search of playing time and impressed to earn the transfer once again. Lo Celso is not in the plans of current Spurs manager Antonio Conte and it makes sense for the attacking midfielder to make the move to familiar territory.

The following visualisation shows where Giovani Lo Celso ranked for some of the key attacking metrics when compared with other players in his position during his brief spell at Villarreal last season.

Giovani Lo Celso played as one of the most advanced players for Villarreal last season. He in fact played 29% of his minutes as a center-forward. As a regular player in the starting 11 for Unai Emery’s side, Lo Celso played an important part for Villarreal especially in taking the club to the semifinals of the Champions League. Lo Celso’s biggest strength is his creativity. The Argentine ranked in the 93rd percentile for Key Passes per 90 minutes and 85th percentile for Expected Assists (xA) per 90 minutes among center-forwards and attacking midfielders in La Liga 2021/22. He is not someone who scores a lot of goals given his below average 16th percentile for Expected Goals (xG) per 90 minutes. He also ranks above average for Dribbles per 90 minutes and crosses per 90 minutes.

Giovani Lo Celso arrived at Spurs from Betis for his offensive credentials, initially on loan. His move was then made permanent as he impressed at Spurs. Injuries meant that he was down the pecking order in terms of selection towards the end of his time at Spurs but moving to Villarreal should mean that he will once again be available regularly on the pitch and can show his worth once again to the world.