Spurs star who was “more skilled than Bale” is now struggling in Greece

They may not have been essentially the most profitable group during the last 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 perfect striker within the Premier League and fashioned one of many best-attacking partnerships ever alongside Son Heung-min.

Nonetheless, 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 pressure of nature for the Lilywhites and finally netted the group a world report £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 season, 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 on account of his unimaginable aim report in Spain and the latter due to 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.

Nonetheless, whereas 5 of the seven arrivals left arguably as flops, there have been two who definitely had extra of a constructive 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 targets and offering 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 positively 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 lined, 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 round £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.

The truth is, 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 membership earlier than becoming a member of Sevilla as a part of a swap deal in July 2021.

In these appearances, the 32-year-old scored 37 targets, supplied 44 assists and sometimes confirmed actual glimpses of high quality, corresponding to his Puskas-winning aim 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 folks 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 the moment, as after three middling seasons at Sevilla, the 25-capped worldwide joined Greek facet AEK Athens, and whereas he isn’t been woeful, he hasn’t been nice both.

In 13 appearances throughout all competitions, the previous Spurs star has failed to attain a single aim and has simply three assists to his identify, which isn’t the form of output you’ll count on from somebody of his capacity.

Finally, regardless of being an honest servant to the membership, Lamela may by no means reside as much as the expectations folks had of him at Spurs, and it seems to be like which may be occurring to him once more, solely this time in Greece.