Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Giovani Lo Celso has reportedly touched down in Spain as he prepares to re-join Villarreal on loan.
The 26-year-old struggled to force his way into Antonio Conte's plans in the first half of the 2021-22 season but was a key player under Unai Emery at La Ceramica.
Lo Celso came up with one goal and one assist in 16 La Liga outings for the Yellow Submarine and was a consistent fixture of their side en route to the Champions League semi-finals.
The Argentine returned to Hotspur Way earlier this summer but was notably left out of Conte's squad for Spurs' pre-season tour of South Korea amid speculation surrounding his future.
Rodrigo Bentancur, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Oliver Skipp, Yves Bissouma and Pape Sarr are all above Lo Celso in the pecking order, and he is expected to leave in the coming weeks.
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A return to Villarreal is thought to be Lo Celso's preferred choice, although Fiorentina have been tipped to hijack a move for the Argentina international after opting against making Lucas Torreira's stay permanent.
The Yellow Submarine have struggled to meet Spurs' asking price for Lo Celso, and as a result, the former Real Betis and Paris Saint-Germain lynchpin will only be returning on loan.
According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Lo Celso has now arrived back in Spain as he prepares to undergo his medical and finalise his loan return to the La Liga giants.
Romano adds that the season-long loan deal will not include an option to buy, but Tottenham are able to break the temporary deal if there is a chance to offload Lo Celso permanently.
The midfielder still has three years left to run on his Tottenham contract and has registered a total of eight goals and six assists in 84 outings for the Lilywhites across all tournaments.
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Conte recently admitted that an exit for Lo Celso and fellow unwanted midfielder Tanguy Ndombele would be best for both parties, telling reporters: "First of all we've talking about really good players, for sure.
"Ndombele and Lo Celso last season in January they went on loan, Ndombele to Lyon and Lo Celso to Villarreal. Every season there are different targets, this season there is the World Cup & many players ask to play regularly to give [them] more time to play games. For this reason some can also push to go away and try to play in a more regular way."
Lo Celso and Ndombele are two of four players who have supposedly been banished from first-team Tottenham training, with Harry Winks and Sergio Reguilon also training individually.
Ndombele has reportedly agreed to sign for Serie A side Napoli on loan, but the Lilywhites are struggling to find suitors for Winks and Reguilon with only a few weeks left in the summer window.
Steven Bergwijn, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Kion Etete and Jack Clarke have already said their goodbyes to Tottenham, who face Chelsea in Sunday's Premier League London derby at Stamford Bridge.
Ben Knapton
