5 reasons Tottenham should be excited to sign Ross Barkley

2. He provides Erik Lamela insurance

Erik Lamela is Tottenham’s forgotten man at this point. It seems like forever since we’ve seen him grace the pitch in a Spurs uniform. It’s fair to wonder how different the season might have been if Lamela stayed healthy.

The Argentine attacker’s status for next year is still up in the air. The hope is that his hip will make a full recovery before the start of next season, but club officials are very concerned about whether or not that will actually occur.

Lamela, of course, would have received a lot of playing time in the attacking midfield. Barkley’s arrival would provide Pochettino with another viable option to play alongside Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli in an attacking midfield trio.

If Lamela comes back to full fitness, then Pochettino can deploy Barkley somewhere else on the pitch. At the very least, the Englishman’s arrival would lessen the club’s dependence on Lamela’s recovery. He’d be a very prudent insurance purchase.