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Erik Lamela faces an interesting future at Tottenham Hotspur.
The club continue to pursue their first signing since January 2018, with a number of attacking midfielders, including Giovani Lo Celso of Real Betis and Sporting Lisbon’s Bruno Fernandes, linked with a move.
On the chalkboard
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What exactly, then, does Lamela offer the club?
The Argentine made 33 appearances in all competitions last season but completed the 90 minutes just four times – against Watford and Chelsea in the Carabao Cup and Manchester City and Wolves in the Premier League.
It appears as though he is not be fully trusted by Mauricio Pochettino, his compatriot.
In the Premier League though, Lamela scored four goals and provided two assists, which is by no means a bad return on limited playing time.
He averages 1.5 shots per game, 1.2 key passes, 1.1 dribbles, and is dispossessed 1.1 times while having 1.5 unsuccessful touches, per Whoscored.
He is regularly regarded as the player who leads Spurs’ press but he makes just 0.9 tackles per game, 0.4 interceptions and concedes 1.2 fouls.
In terms of passing, Lamela averages 22.2 passes per game with a completion rate of 83.2%, while he crosses the ball 0.5 times.
If one reads those stats again, it’s remarkably difficult to see what Lamela actually offers. He’s not a particularly accurate passer of the ball, nor is he any good at tackling. He can get into dangerous positions and play in those around him but it rarely leads to anything, as evidenced by his key pass number almost outweighing his assists.
Master of none
This essentially confirms what many Spurs fans have known for a fair old while: Lamela isn’t really good enough.
He is a mystery wrapped in an enigma, really, as he is largely unable to influence games positively bar the odd time when he produces something magical.
Indeed, the abiding memory of Lamela’s 2018/19 season will be him attempting to dribble his way out of trouble in his own penalty area as Spurs attempted to see out their 3-2 lead over Ajax in the Champions League semi-final second leg.
He is all too regularly reckless and daring on the ball and yet, it rarely actually leads to anything in an attacking sense.
If either Lo Celso or Fernandes do arrive in north London, they will surely be regarded as a major upgrade on the Argentine.
He may well stay around – Spurs do need more depth in attacking midfield – but it is unlikely he will be playing anything close to a starring role next term.