Roma forward Erik Lamela has arrived in London to complete a £30million move to Tottenham as Gareth Bale’s protracted switch to Real Madrid threatened to turn ugly.

Spurs have been in talks with the Italian club for a fortnight but stepped up their efforts after Chelsea hijacked their move for Willian last week.

The issue over Lamela has been the fee but Spurs agreed to raise their offer from £25.5m to ensure they did not lose out on another target.

Spurs have offered the 21-year-old a £66,000-a-week contract and, significantly, he was left out of Roma’s starting XI against Livorno on Sunday.

It will be the third time this summer Spurs have broken their transfer record, having paid £17m for Paulinho and £26m for Roberto Soldado.

The Argentina international, who predominantly plays on the wing, made a huge impact in Serie A last season, scoring 15 goals in 35 games.

The deal is expected to be announced before the second leg of their Europa League qualifier against Dinamo Tiblisi on Thursday, which should pave the way for Bale to finally complete his world record £86m move to Madrid.

Spurs are only prepared to let Bale leave once they have signed a replacement and Chelsea’s swoop for Willian delayed it.

The 24-year-old travelled to Marbella at the weekend in the hope he would soon be unveiled at the Bernabeu only to be ordered in for training today.

However, the Wales international chose to remain at home and a source close to him reportedly said he was “furious and more frustrated than ever” that Spurs have still not let him go.

Chairman Daniel Levy, who was at the training ground today, is refusing to be hurried by Real and is understood to be angry at their attempts to push the move through.

The Spanish club, who still hope to present him to fans at their stadium tomorrow, mistakenly put Bale shirts for sale on their website and also constructed a stage at the Bernabeu days ago, which will be used as part of his presentation to the world media.

A six year contract worth £150,000-a-week has been agreed but Bale’s refusal to train today will put relations between him and the north London club under even more strain.

Spurs are still interested in Zenit St Petersburg forward Hulk while Ajax midfielder Christian Eriksen is another target.