{"id":7418,"date":"2017-09-13T03:00:14","date_gmt":"2017-09-13T07:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonfootball.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=7418"},"modified":"2017-09-12T21:15:01","modified_gmt":"2017-09-13T01:15:01","slug":"erik-lamela-the-comeback-kid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2017\/09\/13\/erik-lamela-the-comeback-kid\/","title":{"rendered":"Erik Lamela: The Comeback Kid?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Very few players divide opinion more than Erik Lamela. The tricky Argentine is viewed as a genius by some and\u00a0a busted flush, possibly even an idiot,\u00a0by others. With Lamela stepping up his recovery from injury there is an air of confusion what role, if any, he still has at Tottenham Hotspur<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Comeback<\/h2>\n

The club tweeted<\/a> shots of Lamela in training this week to ease concerns over rumours his recent injury lay-off would end his career.\u00a0He has been out with a knee\u00a0problem\u00a0since October last year and rumours<\/a> he initially refused treatment until December only served to anger fans. The player and the club have both denied these allegations.<\/p>\n

Latin flair and a Latin temper<\/h2>\n

One of\u00a0the 25-year-old’s\u00a0greatest attributes is his creativity and dribbling,\u00a0the latter of which, though unorthodox, is\u00a0highly effective and cleverly creates space for others. Apart from Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli, the current Tottenham side doesn’t really have any real areas of creativity, so he will add to the squad when he returns. During his last full season, Lamela recorded nine assists and created 75 chances in the Premier League. This kind of talent has been missing from the current Spurs side, with the team struggling to break down sides who\u00a0“park the bus”.<\/p>\n

Another of Lamela’s strengths is his work rate, but he often lets himself down by turning this into recklessness.\u00a0On too many occasions, he has allwoed\u00a0opposition defenders to get\u00a0out of tricky situations by diving in needlessly and giving away silly fouls.<\/p>\n

Record breaker<\/h2>\n

Lamela arrived at Tottenham as part of the notorious “Magnificent Seven<\/a>“, in reference to the seven players signed by\u00a0the club\u00a0following Gareth Bale’s departure. Of those seven, only Eriksen has\u00a0been a definite success,\u00a0with four flopping and Nacer\u00a0Chadli proving himself to be inconsistent before his departure. Lamela has certainly surpassed Chadli, but\u00a0he is nowhere near Eriksen.<\/p>\n

Although the fee has since been beaten, the \u00a330 million given to Roma to acquire\u00a0his services was\u00a0at the time a record for Spurs.\u00a0When\u00a0Lamela returns to action, he will have to establish himself as the second definite success of 2013’s summer signings to justify his price tag.<\/p>\n

The Rabona<\/h2>\n

It is impossible to talk about Erik Lamela’s time at Tottenham without making reference to\u00a0his iconic ‘rabona’\u00a0goal in the Europa League. It is the perfect example of the sheer brilliance of which he is capable,\u00a0but he does need to start to produce moments like it on a more regular basis. He has produced a handful of other memorable moments, but it is consistency which he now needs to add to his game.<\/p>\n

What next?<\/h2>\n

Lamela has been linked with moves to both MLS and China. Both of these are well below his level, and considering many Chinese clubs are in debt due to the ridiculous fees and wages they have been\u00a0throwing about, it is unlikely that Tottenham would recoup any more than half of the fee they paid Roma.<\/p>\n

Since finding a replacement within the club’s price range would be nigh on impossible, from\u00a0a financial aspect it would be best to give the Argentine at least another season. Tottenham need another creative player and\u00a0he fits the bill.\u00a0Lamela is likely to be given substantial game time once fit, which will be a huge chance for him to fulfil his potential.<\/p>\n

Main Photo<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>