Tottenham: Could Erik Lamela take over for Christian Eriksen at Spurs?

Most pundits believe Tottenham need to purchase a replacement for Christian Eriksen, but Erik Lamela could be the right man for the job. 

When Erik Lamela first arrived at Tottenham he was billed to be Gareth Bale‘s replacement in the Spurs starting XI. Ironically, he could end up replacing another star for Mauricio Pochettino’s club. The talented Argentine may be the right man to fill the void created when Christian Eriksen inevitably leaves the club.

Critics of Lamela will immediately point to his sordid injury history as a reason why he’s not deserving of this responsibility. That’s absolutely a fair criticism. Lamela has spent more time rehabbing from injuries at Tottenham than he actually has enjoyed playing for Spurs. However, he has started out this season in terrific physical condition. It’s at least possible that he’s finally put his fitness problems behind him.

If Lamela has finally put his injury problems to rest, he could be in line to become the club’s new No. 10. Admittedly, he doesn’t play the position in a similar fashion to Eriksen, but he might be a better fit for the way Pochettino wants his club to function.

Some of the issues currently plaguing Tottenham can be traced back to Pochettino’s decision to move away from the high pressing style that defined his early years at the club. Part of the shift in philosophy can be attributed to Eriksen’s lack of physicality. Quite frankly, he’s an awful fit for a club that want their front four to hound the opposition. He’d much rather sit back and try to pick apart the opposing defence with his skillful passing.

Lamela is a poster child for attackers who play more like defensive midfielders when they lose the ball. If anything, he can be guilty of pressing the opponent too much. The Argentine has a well-earned reputation for picking up yellow cards at an alarming rate. Even so, Pochettino would rather coach aggression out of a player than into him.

If we’re being quite honest, there’s no way that Pochettino would have ever purchased a player like Eriksen. He did a terrific job of integrating him into his squad to great effect, but it’s quite possible Pochettino will be liberated after Eriksen departs. That should allow him to get back to building a team in his ideal image.

Don’t look for Spurs to simply hand Lamela the chance to take over for Eriksen without any safety yet, but he will get every opportunity to make the position his own. It’s taken quite a while, but it may finally be time for Lamela to become the star he was always tipped to be at Tottenham.