Darren Bent urges Spurs to get rid of this midfielder in the summer transfer window

Former Tottenham striker Darren Bent believes this should be Erik Lamela’s final season at the club as the Argentine is unlikely to get into the team when everybody is fully fit.

Lamela is the only player out of the so-called ‘Bale seven’ who were signed with the Gareth Bale money in 2013, to still be at the club.

He has been a loyal servant to Tottenham over the years but has had terrible luck with injuries throughout his time in North London.

The midfielder’s inability to keep himself fit has meant that he has never quite managed to be a regular in the side for any sustained period, with the 2015/16 season arguably being the one exception.

The 27-year-old came off the bench in the 1-0 defeat against Leipzig on Wednesday and made a positive impact on proceedings.

However, Bent feels that Lamela doesn’t have enough quality to his game to be a regular for Jose Mourinho’s side and urged the Lilywhites to sell him in the summer.

Speaking to Football Insider, the former England man said: “He’s another one that flatters to deceive a little bit, I’m not quite sure what he does extremely well, if that makes sense.

“I know he comes on and he does things and is a good player and all this but I just don’t know what his best position. For me, he’s always better when he comes off the bench as sort of an impact player.

“If everyone’s fully fit, he doesn’t get anywhere near the team. If everyone’s fit, you’re going to put Son ahead of him, Steven Bergwijn’s ahead of him, Lucas Moura’s ahead of him, Harry Kane’s got the position to himself, Lo Celso’s ahead of him.

“Where exactly does he fit in? For his own ambitions, he’s going to want to go somewhere where he’ll play week in, week out.”

Spurs Web Opinion

I think Bent definitely has a point when he says Lamela is better off the bench than as a starter. That is why I think it might be worth keeping him around as a squad player. If our current injury crisis has taught us anything, it is the importance of having cover.

Lamela is a committed player who is likely to accept a bit-part role and has the quality to make the difference. His injury record also means that we are unlikely to get a decent transfer fee for him if we do decide to sell. So, I think it makes sense to keep him around for now.

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