The curious case of Giovani Lo Celso's missing Tottenham minutes after Ange Postecoglou admission

Giovani Lo Celso really must be wondering what he has to do to get a start in Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham team. At a time when Spurs have been struggling in the Premier League, the Argentina international has had to settle for minutes here and there for the Lilywhites.

What makes his lack of game time all the more puzzling is the fact that he is a regular in the Argentina side when away from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on international duty. Remaining in north London this season rather than heading out either on loan or permanently, Lo Celso proved his worth to Postecoglou and Spurs in late November and early December with strong performances and goals against Aston Villa and Man City.

His year then came to an end with two assists in the team's 3-1 win over Bournemouth on New Year's Eve. As has been the case since his move to the capital in the summer of 2019, injury once again forced the 28-year-old to spend some time in the treatment room and it wasn't until midway through February when he made his first appearance of 2024 in the home defeat to Wolves.

Since his return against Gary O'Neil's team, Lo Celso has played a grand total of 76 minutes across 10 league appearances. The most amount of minutes the player received in one of those 10 appearances came against Luton Town when he got 22 minutes under his belt, with the ex-Real Betis man getting 15 minutes in Sunday's defeat to Liverpool and 14 minutes in the home win over Nottingham Forest.

For the most part, Lo Celso has had to settle for five minutes or less in six games since his return. Even in matches where the result has been out of sight for quite some time, most notably the big away defeats at Fulham and Newcastle United, Postecoglou has elected against introducing