Erik Lamela was bought for a club record £26m and he's barely had a kick... so will Spurs get ANY value out of the Argentinian dud?

The 22-year-old has not appeared for Tottenham Hotspur since December 29

Lamela has made just 10 starts and has scored one goal

The Argentinian has five years left on his contract and is determined to succeed at White Hart Lane

His lack of action has seen him miss out on a place in Argentina's squad for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil



There are clips on YouTube of Erik Lamela slaloming his way past defences in the shirts of River Plate and Roma before he rifles the ball into the top corner.



Lamela was widely regarded as one of the finest talents in world football when he joined Tottenham for a club record fee of £26million last summer. Since then, he has barely had a kick.



Last month, when Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood was asked about the Argentine’s contribution this season, he claimed: ‘The jury is still out, if I’m honest.’ They were hardly words of reassurance.

VIDEO Scroll down to watch Erik Lamela in the gym



Record buy: Erik Lamela was bought by Tottenham Hotspur last summer for a club record fee of £30 million

The truth is that Lamela, 22, was injured when he arrived and was so desperate to succeed that he hid a muscular injury following his move to the Barclays Premier League.



His body compensated in other areas, eventually leading to the diagnosis of a fractured vertebra that has kept him out of a Tottenham shirt since a 15-minute substitute appearance in the 3-0 victory over Stoke on December 29.



Since his move — when he was signed with seven other players in a summer spending spree — he has made 10 starts, three in the Premier League. He has scored just once, in a Europa League tie against FC Sheriff. He impressed Spurs fans in that tie but his confidence was not helped when he was left out of the next game — a 1-0 home defeat by Newcastle — by Andre Villas-Boas.



There have been other signs of his talent, including a clever last-minute assist for Paulinho’s winner at Cardiff. But inside he is hurting and is absolutely determined to make amends next season.



A queue of clubs playing Champions League football next season would take Lamela off Tottenham’s hands, but he isn’t leaving.

Lack of action: Lamela has made just 10 starts for Tottenham Hotspur and has scored just once

He has five years left on his contract and intends to live up to his billing as one of the world’s best young players when the Premier League resumes on August 16.



Lamela was happy to start a new life in London when he joined last summer, part of a progression that he mapped out in an interview with Transworld Sport when he was 12.



He spoke of his ambition to leave Argentina to play in Italy, England and ‘preferably Spain because they speak the same language’. His failure to grasp the language is another issue, something



Sherwood referenced when Lamela returned to Rome to see specialists because his Italian is better than his English.

Lack of backing: Tottenham Hotspur manager Tim Sherwood has hardly provided reassurance for Lamela

In the early phase of his Tottenham career, as he adapted to his new life and the Hampstead home he shares with his girlfriend, he was still coming to terms with the language.



Lamela knows that after a year in England, a country he always had ambitions to play in when he was growing up with dad Jose and mum Miriam, that he should have a better handle on it.



Off the field he is shy and introverted, spending time with his girlfriend and learning to love their quiet London life. His lack of playing time has come at a cost, with him missing out on a place in Alejandro Sabella’s Argentina squad for the World Cup.



Staying in: Lamela's lack of action has seen him miss out on a place in the Argentina World Cup squad

But Lamela has been motivated by Sherwood and the manager’s implied criticism before Tottenham’s Premier League clash with Fulham on April 19. Asked if he was coming under pressure from Tottenham’s hierarchy to play Lamela (he was injured anyway), this was Sherwood’s spiky response: ‘The chance would be a fine thing. He’s never been fit. He’s an unknown quantity as far as I’m concerned.’



At the start of the season Lamela wanted to impress Villas-Boas, to continue the rich vein of goalscoring form that convinced chairman Daniel Levy he was capable of replacing Gareth Bale.



In his final season at the Stadio Olimpico, former Roma coach Zdenek Zeman made a subtle tactical tweak to his game and asked him to switch wings. He would cut in from the right on to his favoured left boot and ping balls into the penalty area for Daniele De Rossi, Francesco Totti or Miralem Pjanic.

Former gaffer: Lamela signed for Tottenham Hotspur when Andre Villas-Boas was still in charge

It worked and he scored 15 times in 33 Serie A appearances as Roma finished the season in sixth place.



There’s an assumption that Lamela was recommended to Spurs by their director of football Franco Baldini when he quit Roma to take up a similar position at Tottenham last summer. In fact they made their first approach in January 2013, when Villas-Boas enquired about him in the transfer window.



After such a long courtship, he is under pressure to create a stir at Spurs. He needs to do it soon.