Popular football pundit Garth Crooks has showered praise on Tottenham winger Erik Lamela following the Argentine’s brilliant performance against West Ham last week.
The 26-year-old has been in good form this season, but it took Mauricio Pochettino this long to actually give him a start in the Premier League.
In his first Premier League start of the season, he was arguably the best player on the pitch for Spurs, and his goal made the difference between the two sides.
Lamela has now scored five goals already for Spurs and has further registered three assists in all competitions. Crooks suggests that the former AS Roma winger has returned to his best form after battling long with injuries.
The BBC pundit also believes that if Lamela can perform at this level, he can take Dele Alli’s position in the side.
“This is a player with extraordinary ability. We’ve seen flashes of it before and who can forget his rabona against Asteras Tripolis in the Europa League? Erik Lamela seems back to the player he was before he had his long lay-off with injury,” wrote Crooks for BBC Sport.
“He dominated proceedings against West Ham and his efforts deserved to be rewarded with the winning goal. Dele Alli had better be careful – Lamela is very capable of taking his place.”
Alli, who was signed by Pochettino in 2015, has been a key player for Spurs since he joined the club. He is currently nursing his injury, and Spurs have missed him dearly.
Pochettino would love to have two quality players playing at the top level for his side, and he would welcome such selection headache, as it will only improve the team in the long run.
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