Pundit claims Spurs star may be offered a new contract but on reduced terms

Danny Mills has claimed that Jose Mourinho will not be too bothered by Erik Lamela’s antics off the pitch this season, while also suggesting that Tottenham may be considering reducing the midfielder’s salary in any new contract.

It has not been a few weeks for Lamela, who hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons around Christmas time.

First, the Argentine was pictured together with Sergio Reguilon, Giovani Lo Celso and West Ham’s Manuel Lanzini at a Christmas party, in violation of the government’s COVID regulations. Lamela and his Spurs teammates were fined by the club for their actions.

It then came out last week that the former Roma man was one of several Spurs stars who were prosecuted for speeding along the A10.

Despite these episodes, Mills insisted that the 28-year-old’s future at the club will only be based on what he does on the pitch.

Lamela has 18 months left to run on his contract and the former Leeds defender claimed that the North Londoners could offer him a new deal on reduced terms.

The pundit told Football Insider: “It will all come down to his performances in training and in matches.

“I don’t think Mourinho is overly bothered about petty things now and then. Speeding is not really an issue in terms of football. Ok, the COVID thing was maybe a little bit stupid. As long as he doesn’t do it again and learns from it, it won’t be a problem.

“He doesn’t seem like he’s a troublemaker. I know some players get caught out with covid but you can sort of understand it. They’ll be thinking ‘hang on, we’re all together a lot of the time, we’re all in this bubble, we’re all being tested. Oh damn, we’ve done something maybe we shouldn’t have.’ It’s just silly naivety and a little bit of stupidity more than anything else.

“It will all come down to whether he’s good enough on the pitch. Does he have something to offer? If he can make Tottenham better they’ll look to keep hold of him.

“They might offer him on a contract that isn’t as good as the one he’s on now. But where else do you go in this current climate? Contract negotiations might start turning in favour of the clubs in this day and age.”

Spurs Web Opinion

Lamela was doing well up until his injury and seemed to be Jose’s first choice ahead of Bergwijn, Lucas and Bale. He personifies the type of characters the Spurs boss wants in his squad as he always gives a 100 per cent whether he starts or comes off the bench. If he can stay relatively injury-free for the remainder of the season (which is always a big ‘if’ with him), then I expect the club to offer him a new contract.

Related Topics