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Lamela injury may force Tottenham to spend in January

By Rucker Haringey

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - SEPTEMBER 27: Georgi Schennikov of CSKA Moscow vies for the ball with Erik Lamela of Tottenham Hotspur FC during the UEFA Champions League match between PFC CSKA Moskva and Tottenham Hotspur FC at the CSKA Arena stadium on September 27, 2016 in Moscow. (Photo by Epsilon/Getty Images)
MOSCOW, RUSSIA - SEPTEMBER 27: Georgi Schennikov of CSKA Moscow vies for the ball with Erik Lamela of Tottenham Hotspur FC during the UEFA Champions League match between PFC CSKA Moskva and Tottenham Hotspur FC at the CSKA Arena stadium on September 27, 2016 in Moscow. (Photo by Epsilon/Getty Images) /
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Tottenham may need a replacement for Erik Lamela in January

Lost in the joy of Tottenham’s comfortable 5-0 demolishing of Swansea was Erik Lamela’s continued absence. Mauricio Pochettino and company may need to dip into the winter transfer window to find a replacement for the talented attacker.

The Spurs manager revealed that Lamela’s hip injury is worse than the club originally feared earlier this week. Unfortunately, there’s no current timetable for the Argentine’s return. Without him, the club are forced to rely on Son Heung-Min and Moussa Sissoko to pick up the slack.

Note that I said it would require quality play from Son and  Sissoko. One will need to serve as an effective starter while the other needs to contribute from the bench. That’s a big request from two players who have been very inconsistent this season.

Tottenham fans should have some measure of confidence in Son to fill some sort of meaningful role. He bounced back from a string of mediocre performances with a solid match against Swansea. His goal off the half volley reminded everyone of the class the Korean possesses.

Sissoko’s contributions against Swansea also gave Spurs fans a glimpse into his talent. His stellar run down the right flank set up a late Tottenham goal. It wasn’t a classy effort against stern defensive competition, but it was something to build on.

With that being said, rumors continue to swirl that Sissoko will be offloaded in January. Even if he’s kept in the squad, he can’t really be fully relied on. He clearly doesn’t have Pochettino’s full confidence. As a result, Spurs should look for superior options in January.

Unfortunately, the winter transfer window is a notoriously harsh place to find an immediate contributor. Tottenham have been hesitant to commit serious resources in January during previous seasons. That might change next month.

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Pochettino may well push for serious investment in January. Tottenham currently sit fifth in the Premier League table and need to move up a few spots to guarantee a spot in next year’s Champions League. Qualifying for that competition has a serious impact on the club’s finances.

There’s also the small detail that Spurs failed to progress to the Knockout stage of this year’s Champions League competition. Much of this season’s failure is being attributed to a lack of depth in the squad. That fact also makes January spending more probable.

Tottenham will hope that Erik Lamela makes a quick recovery for multiple reasons. One, they’d like to see his talent back on the pitch, but perhaps just as important, it would keep the club out of the January transfer market.

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