Tottenham have announced that an agreement is in place for a swap deal with Erik Lamela going to Sevilla and winger Bryan Gil joining from the Spanish side.
It brings to an end an eight-year stay in north London for the Argentine who arrived in 2013, as a replacement for Gareth Bale, who had at that time just left for Real Madrid. In that span of time, the midfielder made over 250 appearances and racked up 37 goals.
Now that he’s leaving England to join the Andalusian giants, the 29-year-old had a farewell message for the Spurs fans. On his Instagram account, Lamela posted the following:
“Spurs fans … What can I say? It was a very long journey together, maybe more than I thought, but this club has my heart. I feel the shirt the way you fans feel it. Many good memories over the years and I thank my teammates for these years together.
“I thank the people who work at the club who have always treated me excellently. I thank the fans for cheering me on in every game, I will miss you all. I will carry this club with me forever.”
It was important for the Lilywhites to get an upgrade on the wings and that is exactly what they have done with the signing of Gil. The 20-year-old is a highly rated talent and did wonders last season on loan at Eibar. Spurs fans should be excited to see the Spain international as he has a bag of tricks and skills that is sure to impress.
In the case of Erik Lamela, there was always a sense of inconsistency with him and the Argentina international was not helped by injuries.
There were some real moments of brilliance with the Rabona goal against Arsenal earlier this year coming to mind. But those instances were few and far between.
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Now, Tottenham can look forward to the wizardry of Gil on the wings as they approach a new era under Nuno Espirito Santo.
While Erik Lamela never really hit the heights of the man he was supposed to replace, he was a fine squad member.