Lamela suspicions confirmed
2 min read
Érik Lamela has been pretty ordinary at Spurs since his move in 2013 with fans constantly looking to make excuses for him and even believing mediocre performances were somehow brilliant.
Against anyone but minnows he has struggled and it all stems from his arrival in a new country where he didn't speak the language. He will have had some English no doubt but I wrote way back that Tottenham should have done more and hired a full-time translator for him to help him settle outside of the club environment.
He was lonely and pining for home, or at least Italy. We sent him home that summer to get fit before pre-season training but his second season was mediocre, he did no more than a £5-million player coming up from the Championship could have done. While he chipped in with some assists he had no goal threat and often went missing on defensive duty.
Mentally he had already decided he would rather be in Italy I suspected and his performances seemed to bear that out. Now his father has confirmed that his son wants to return to play in Italy. The deal being discussed would bring Spurs in £15-million in total for him made up of a loan fee and transfer guaranteed fee at the end of the loan spell.
The loan would contain a compulsory buy clause as opposed to an option to buy according to reports in the Italian press. That is far more preferable to Tottenham, it's the only way I could see us loaning him out as it takes away the risk element that he flops, they don't buy him and his value goes down further.
A deal with Inter is a possibility but AC Milan have phoned his agent and asked about his situation, they too would like to sign him, which may help Spurs get a little more for him yet.
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Against anyone but minnows he has struggled and it all stems from his arrival in a new country where he didn't speak the language. He will have had some English no doubt but I wrote way back that Tottenham should have done more and hired a full-time translator for him to help him settle outside of the club environment.
He was lonely and pining for home, or at least Italy. We sent him home that summer to get fit before pre-season training but his second season was mediocre, he did no more than a £5-million player coming up from the Championship could have done. While he chipped in with some assists he had no goal threat and often went missing on defensive duty.
Mentally he had already decided he would rather be in Italy I suspected and his performances seemed to bear that out. Now his father has confirmed that his son wants to return to play in Italy. The deal being discussed would bring Spurs in £15-million in total for him made up of a loan fee and transfer guaranteed fee at the end of the loan spell.
The loan would contain a compulsory buy clause as opposed to an option to buy according to reports in the Italian press. That is far more preferable to Tottenham, it's the only way I could see us loaning him out as it takes away the risk element that he flops, they don't buy him and his value goes down further.
"We are in talks with Inter, so we're discussing it. I can confirm the rumours are true and the interest for Erik is real. We are waiting for more developments over the next few days.
"We would like a return to Italy and are open to negotiations. It's true that he gave his best in Italy and that is probably more suited to his characteristics. We'll see what happens over the final few days of the transfer market. We are waiting for news too.
"Erik was very happy in Serie A and had two great years with Roma. We would like a return to Serie A and we appreciate the Inter option."
A deal with Inter is a possibility but AC Milan have phoned his agent and asked about his situation, they too would like to sign him, which may help Spurs get a little more for him yet.
10 minute subs appearances can tell a lot
He's like the kid in the park playing for his own fun
How to improve Dembele, Lamela, Townsend
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