We’re all aware now that Erik Lamela isn’t worth the money we paid for him, but forgetting about that £30 million (sigh) for a minute, is he worth a place in Pochettino’s plans?
Plenty of people around me in the North Stand Upper have already made up their mind that he’s not. The pass with which he put Chadli in for the first goal against Hull was a peach and it’d great if he turned out to be capable of that more often however the number of times he ends up picking himself up off the floor having been strong armed off the ball due to his lack of pace and strength is ridiculous and these stick more readily in the mind than either this pass or his two (£15 million each) Premier League goals so far.
His avatar should be a picture of himself on all fours banging his palm on the floor as the opposition break from his failure to make the most of the latest opportunity presented to him.
It wouldn’t surprise me if he’s given the Bale/Kane treatment and bulked up during the summer, given how slow he is I think it’s the only way he’s going to ever gain the ability to hold on to the ball when challenged or learn to make space for himself.
I’m leaning towards the ‘keep him’ camp currently, unless a stupid (£30 million?) offer came in for him. There’s potential there as shown by his ball to Chadli, his work rate, and his ability to get into good positions even if he never makes any use of them. He’ll be a far better player if he improves his strength as I say.
Who knows, maybe the new style shirts will remind of the good times when he found the game a lot easier back at River Plate!
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