Under the reign of Ange Postecoglou, Tottenham Hotspur have developed into a side that has the potential to achieve immense success on the field.
James Maddison and Micky van de Ven are two examples of players brought in this summer who fit the Australian’s approach perfectly and have been instant successes, the former notably scoring three goals and providing eight assists in just 18 outings this term.
However, that hasn’t always been the case at Spurs, with plenty of players signing for a hefty fee and then failing to live up to their price tag.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at an individual who showed so much promise in the early days of their career but never fulfilled their potential while playing for the Lilywhites.
What Spurs paid for Erik Lamela
During the 2012/13 season, Erik Lamela was one of the most promising talents in Italy, having starred in the Serie A for Roma with 15 goals and five assists in 33 appearances.
That incredible campaign made Spurs see the Argentine as the perfect replacement for Tottenham icon Gareth Bale, who left that summer for Real Madrid in an £85.2m world record fee.
The Welsh legend had provided 40 goal contributions over 44 matches in his final season at Tottenham, and given that Lamela had shown the ability to both score and create, he was supposed to take the reigns off Bale.
The Spurs ace who went from outscoring Bale to the "flop of the season"
This Tottenham dud is at the epicentre of a chequered transfer history.
ByAngus Sinclair
The Roma gem actually signed for the English club prior to Bale’s exit in a deal worth £25.8m, but Lamela’s start to life in England was extremely tough.
Erik Lamela’s value in 2024
The Argentine’s first season in the Premier League consisted of the winger starting just three times due to a back injury, which saw him miss 26 matches that season.
Unfortunately, injuries disrupting his ability to get a run of games and really develop as a player affected his entire career at Tottenham, with 11 separate injuries haunting him over his eight-year spell at the club.
It’s extremely difficult to see a player with so much promise suffer due to setbacks they cannot control, especially in Lamela’s case, as he was dubbed the “new Messi” by former Spurs great Ossie Ardiles at the beginning of his Spurs journey.
He stated: "Lamela is not as powerful but he is more skilled than Bale. He has been nicknamed the ‘new Messi’ and that’s right – it’s a sign of how talented he is."
Nevertheless, the 32-year-old still made 257 appearances for the Lilywhites, picking up 84 goal contributions in the process, before leaving in 2021 for free via a swap deal that involved Bryan Gil whom the club spent £21.6m on.
Ben Davies
£13m
Ryan Sessengon
£4m
Dane Scarlett
£4m
Fraser Forster
£4m
Jamie Donley
£4m
Erik Lamela
£4m
Lamela is now valued at just £4m, which would make him the joint-lowest valued player in Postecoglou’s squad. Unfortunately, the left-footed artist’s time in Spain has also been ruined by injuries, with him starting four games in La Liga this season and netting twice.
Overall, the 5 foot 11 winger's career at Spurs never truly hit the heights it should have, with journalist Sam Tighe describing him as “frustrating.”
However, had it not been for injuries, who knows what his time in the Premier League would’ve looked like?
Market Movers
Football FanCast's Market Movers series explores the changing landscape of the modern transfer market. How much is your club's star player or biggest flop worth today?
