Tottenham head coach Jose Mourinho has praised the 'incredible personality' of Giovani Lo Celso after his recent resurgence in form.
Lo Celso's transfer to Tottenham was made permanent in January, and Mourinho had nothing but praise for how he has overcome a difficult start.
As quoted by football.london, he said: "First of all he showed an incredible personality because clearly, and I am not going to deny it because it is easy to understand it, when he arrived I didn't give him a big opportunity to play two or three matches in a row. He had to be strong mentally to cope with that. He had to be strong mentally to cope with that.
"Other players I give immediately starts and big matches to play, like I did with Danny Rose. With Gio, I didn't so he had to be mentally strong to cope with that."
The new Spurs boss further praised Lo Celso's quality and versatility on the pitch:
"He can play everywhere. I am so, so happy with him. That is it. I like him very, very much."
Mourinho confirmed that Lo Celso had returned to training following a groin injury that kept him out of Spurs' 3-2 win against Southampton in the FA Cup, and is in contention to return against Aston Villa on Sunday.
Ben Davies has also made a return to training over the winter break, recovering from an ankle injury suffered in Mourinho's first game in charge, but Erik Lamela is a doubt.
Harry Kane and Moussa Sissoko are long-term absentees, with both players currently undergoing rehabilitation of their injuries in the hope of returning before the end of the season.
Source: 90min