Spurs continue UCL chase, but one current star is already there with EIGHT ex-players

The round of 16 is now in the books as Villarreal beat Juventus and Chelsea made it beyond Lille and into the quarter-finals, despite a scare.

Spurs, under new boss Antonio Conte, will want to reach this stage next season as they look to return to Europe's top table.

A 2-0 win at Brighton has helped their chances of a top-four finish, putting them seventh in the Premier League table and just three points behind rivals Arsenal who hold fourth spot.

Conte has shuffled around his squad since his Tottenham appointment in November and one man he felt was - for the time being - surplus to requirements, Giovani Lo Celso, is already in the Champions League quarter-finals.

He joined Villarreal on loan in the January transfer window and helped the Yellow Submarine defeat Juventus 3-0 on Wednesday night, and 4-1 on aggregate.

The Argentine was joined in Unai Emery's XI by Serge Aurier, who left Spurs in the summer on a free transfer, and Etienne Capoue, who had a two-season spell in north London.

Meanwhile, Juan Foyth, who joined Villarreal permanently after a one-year loan - which saw him win the Europa League last season - was on the bench.

Elsewhere, on Tuesday night, Benfica made it into the quarter-finals with Jan Vertonghen at centre-back and Adel Taarabt in central midfield as his career continues to flourish in Portugal.

And, in slightly different circumstances, Man City's Kyle Walker and Real Madrid aces Luka Modric and Gareth Bale are also where Spurs want to be right now.

That makes it nine stars connected with the club in the last-eight of Europe's premier club competition.

Interestingly, the Villarreal side also contained Pau Torres, a centre-back Spurs wanted last summer.

He, though, according to Fabrizio Romano, remained with the club in the summer despite a concrete offer as he wanted the chance to star in the Champions League for his hometown club.

The Yellow Submarine have other English connections, too, with Francis Coquelin - formerly of Arsenal - and Arnaut Danjuma - once of Bournemouth - in their side.

Left-back Pervis Estupian was also on the books of Watford but never played for the club, Alberto Moreno had a spell with Liverpool, while Dani Parejo and Vicente Iborra played for Queens Park Rangers and Leicester, respectively.