£25.8m Spurs player cannot be counted week in, week out claims ex forward

Erik Lamela has now been a Tottenham Hotspur player for six years after he completed a move from Roma for a then hefty £25.8million (Guardian).

Former Spurs forward Darren Bent has claimed that Lamela is too inconistent with his performances to be regarded as one of the first names on the team sheet.

Lamela had a decent pre-season and looked sharp in his outings, but has failed to catch the eye in the opening four Premier League matches.

While Bent regards the 27-year-old as a good playerm he believes that he does not contribute when required and instead can be largely anonymous.

The midfielder has suffered with a number of injuries during his time in North London including a hip problem which required surgery and kept him sidelined for over 400 days (Standard).

Despite Bent’s claim, Mauricio Pochettino has started Lamela in every top flight game played this season to date, but has failed to play the full 90 minutes.

Bent told Football Insider: “I just don’t know if he’s someone you can count on week in, week out. He’s shown flashes he can be very, very good – I’m never going to say he’s not a good player.

“For me I just feel he’s maybe just a little inconsistent, that’s probably the biggest thing, at times he flatters to deceive. There’s been times you’ve been looking for him to do something and there’s nothing really there.”