They may not have been essentially the most profitable group over the past 15 years, however Tottenham Hotspur have been blessed with some ridiculously proficient footballers.
For instance, earlier than his transfer to Bayern Munich, Harry Kane was undoubtedly the very best striker within the Premier League and shaped one of many best-attacking partnerships ever alongside Son Heung-min.
Nevertheless, years earlier than these two grew to become the superstars they’re, one other Spurs attacker was the envy of the footballing world: Gareth Bale.
The Welsh legend was a power of nature for the Lilywhites and ultimately netted the team a world record £85m, which was infamously spent on seven considerably underwhelming signings, together with one participant who was supposedly extra skilful than the Champions League winner, however is now struggling within the Greek Tremendous League.
Spurs’ not so magnificent seven
Sure, with the cash made on Bale’s sale, Daniel Levy and Co opted to splash the money on seven new signings that summer, and whereas a few of them panned out okay, most didn’t.
For instance, whereas Roberto Soldado and Paulinho arrived with loads of hype, the previous as a result of his incredible goal record in Spain and the latter as a result of of comparisons to Frank Lampard, neither one achieved a lot of something on the membership.
Likewise, whereas none of them have been dreadful, Nacer Chadli, Etienne Capoue and Vlad Chiriches all left the North Londoners inside three years, leaving little to no mark on the membership by any means.
Nevertheless, whereas 5 of the seven arrivals left arguably as flops, there have been two who actually had extra of a optimistic influence.
The primary is Christan Eriksen, who was undoubtedly essentially the most profitable of the seven and made 305 appearances for the Lilywhites, scoring 69 goals and providing 88 assists earlier than leaving to hitch Inter Milan in January 2020.
The ultimate member of the not-so-magnificent seven wasn’t as profitable because the Dane, however he remained in North London for longer and definitely made his mark, though comparisons to Bale within the early days look much more ridiculous now that he is struggling within the Greek Tremendous League.
The previous Spurs star struggling in Greece
So, with six of the seven gamers already coated, it ought to come as no shock that the participant we’re speaking about is Erik Lamela.
The Argentine ace joined the North Londoners for around £25.8m in late August 2013, and whereas he wasn’t as game-changing as Eriksen was, he was considerably extra impactful than the opposite 5 gamers signed that summer season.
In reality, to his credit score, the Carapachay-born dynamo was the final man standing from the magnificent seven and ended up making 257 appearances for the club earlier than becoming a member of Sevilla as a part of a swap deal in July 2021.
|
Lamela’s Spurs profession |
|
|---|---|
|
Appearances |
257 |
|
Minutes |
13842′ |
|
Targets |
37 |
|
Assists |
44 |
|
Factors per Recreation |
1.79 |
|
Aim Involvements per Match |
0.31 |
|
Minutes per Aim Involvement |
170.88′ |
|
All Stats by way of Transfermarkt |
|
In these appearances, the 32-year-old scored 37 objectives, supplied 44 assists and sometimes confirmed actual glimpses of high quality, equivalent to his Puskas-winning purpose within the North London Derby.
Whereas these moments helped justify the cash spent on him, he may by no means fairly reside as much as the expectations individuals had of him when he first arrived in N17, particularly after membership legend Ossie Ardiles proclaimed that he was “extra expert than Bale.”
Such feedback look much more outrageous at present, as after three middling seasons at Sevilla, the 25-capped international joined Greek side AEK Athens, and whereas he is not been woeful, he hasn’t been nice both.
In 13 appearances across all competitions, the previous Spurs star has failed to attain a single purpose and has simply three assists to his title, which isn’t the kind of output you’ll anticipate from somebody of his potential.
In the end, regardless of being an honest servant to the membership, Lamela may by no means reside as much as the expectations individuals had of him at Spurs, and it seems to be like that could be occurring to him once more, solely this time in Greece.
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