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Spanish media unconvinced by Johnny Cardoso’s display v Real Madrid after Tottenham Hotspur agreement
Tottenham Hotspur have teed up a potentially exciting deal for the future with the summer transfer window now over.
Tottenham Hotspur fans didn’t have much to shout about over the weekend.
Deadline day came and went without any new arrivals and Sunday saw Tottenham lose 2-1 to Newcastle United despite dominating the game.
Tottenham supporters did see one player move on though as Giovani Lo Celso signed for Real Betis.
The Argentinian just hasn’t lived up to expectations since joining from Betis in 2019 and now heads back to La Liga to kickstart his career.
Lo Celso’s exit barely registered on the Tottenham radar given his general lack of impact at the club but there was one point of intrigue.

Spanish media on potentially Tottenham Hotspur-bound Johnny Cardoso
Tottenham struck an intriguing deal as part of Lo Celso’s departure.
Tottenham have negotiated a first option on Johnny Cardoso as part of Lo Celso’s return to Betis.
Spurs can now activate that option on Cardoso by next summer and bring the United States international to North London.
If Spurs decide not to sign Cardoso, they still claim a percentage of any fee Betis bring in when they do sell him elsewhere.
Spurs had been silent on the deal but Betis president Angel Haro has confirmed that Tottenham can sign Cardoso.
That is a fascinating move and Cardoso was actually in action on Sunday night as Betis faced Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Cardoso didn’t start the game but came off the bench as Kylian Mbappe’s brace handed Real a 2-0 win.
Tottenham fans will be fascinated to know how their potential future midfielder fared, but the Spanish press gave mixed views.
gave Cardoso just a four out of 10 rating, suggesting that he doesn’t quite look the same as he did last season.
“He is not quite the same as last season, with errors with the ball and sometimes arriving late,” they wrote.
were a little more positive, claiming that Betis actually shored up defensively with Cardoso on the pitch.
“With the American right next to Marc Roca, Pellegrini managed to stop the first local avalanche and Betis came back for a few minutes, before Mbappé sealed the victory in seven minutes,” they wrote.
went somewhere between the two, suggesting that Cardoso did help Betis at first but he just clearly isn’t in his best form.
“He came on for William to help Marc Roca contain Madrid. They managed to do so for a few minutes, but the American is still far from his best form,” they wrote.
Cardoso in and out for Betis as Tottenham watch on
This has now become a big season for Cardoso.
The 22-year-old only joined Betis from Brazilian side Internacional in January but is now fighting for a 2025 move to the Premier League.
We can imagine that Cardoso may feel a little ‘under the microscope’ with Tottenham now watching his every move for the rest of the season.
Spurs will be studying closely as they weigh up whether or not to cough up the cash and bring Cardoso to North London.
Real Madrid is a tough game for anybody and Tottenham will just be looking for traits and potential, seeing if they can mould Cardoso into a star down the line.
Seeing Cardoso in and out of the Betis side doesn’t really help Tottenham right now but it’s all part of his development journey for now – and hopefully, he will come out all the better for it.