Former Tottenham player Ossie Ardiles has backed his Argentina compatriot Erik Lamela to come through his difficult start to life at White Hart Lane. The 21-year-old has been out with injury in recent weeks, but Ardiles, expects the record £30m signing to shine next season.
"I have a lot of confidence in him," he told skysports.com. "His background is as a top, top player. In Argentina he was called the new Messi when he was with River Plate; in Roma he was called the new Totti, so his background is very good.
"But the pace in English football is much more difficult. It's much quicker and it's difficult to adapt immediately, so he did not start well and he's not really played. He's injured too, which has not helped.
"But he is a very young player. I'm pretty sure he has adapted to the English way of living, that's the easy part. The most difficult part is playing in a new team and something just needs to click and I'm sure if something clicks, he will be a very, very good asset for the club."
