On the 10th June 2008, a 19 year old Mexican by the name of Giovanni Dos Santos joined Tottenham FC from European Giants Barcelona for the minimal fee of £4.7m. Having progressed through the youth ranks at Barcelona with the likes of Bojan and Sergio Busquets, ‘Giovanni’ quickly gained a reputation as an expert dribbler with instinctive creative attributes, with many dubbing him the new Ronaldinho. This summer marks the 3rd year since his arrival at White Hart Lane with many Spurs Fans barely remembering his face since he joined in 2008 as opposed to singing his name on match days.
So what has happened to the ‘Wonderkid’ Giovanni Dos Santos since he joined 3 years ago? and why would Spurs waste such a talent by relegating him to the sidelines? Well, the only man that can tell you is Harry Redknapp, and he certainly doesn’t seem to be much of a fan of the Mexican Maestro as a total of 18 appearances in 3 years will convey.
‘Gio’ as he is referred to by his team-mates, arrived at Tottenham with a global reputation as one of the best young talents in Europe, let alone La Liga. But the question on everyone’s lips was this: Why would a world class club like Barcelona let one of their best young players leave for a fee of under £5m without a fight? It seems Tottenham are now beginning to learn something that Barcelona knew from the very start and it just so happens that no-one knows why that is. After all, you wouldn’t of seen Barcelona sell a certain Lionel Messi for that price at the tender age of 19 would you?
Gio has the talent to get in most of the top european sides without question. Everyone saw that during his brief appearances for the Barcelona first team and his star showing at last summers World Cup in South Africa earned him a nomination for the Young Player of the Tournament accolade. However, for all his skills and technique, does Gio have the killer touch that sets himself above the rest of the pack? evidently not. Although a succession of injuries have contributed to his downfall at Spurs, Harry Redknapp has not even used him to warm the bench this season when fit, whereas the Barcelona hierarchy must have preferred the similar Bojan as a more destructive talent to lead them in the future during his time in Spain.
Loan Spells at Ipswich and Turkish Giants Fenerbache have proved to be successful for Gio, but not rewarding. His name is constantly linked to other clubs since he came back from recent loan spell in Turkey and is inevitable that he is swiftly heading towards the exit door this January/summer barring a spate of injuries to the Spurs midfield. One thing is for sure is that Gio has time on his hands. At 21 years old, the trickster has many years ahead of him and he might just find the home he is looking for with his next move. Spurs fans just hope that his talent doesn’t come back to haunt them when he finally does.
