Jose Mourinho lauds Tottenham ace Erik Lamela after Brighton win

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Jose Mourinho has admitted that he was touched by Erik Lamela’s suggestion that he was willing to step up to the Tottenham Hotspur bench and potentially play against Brighton on Boxing Day, in comments reported by Football London.

Lamela has not featured under Mourinho yet, and has not played for Spurs since October. Football London reports that he picked up a hamstring injury in training and Mourinho previously stated that he was hoping to have the midfielder back for the end of this month.

He is still awaiting the chance to play for Mourinho for the first time. But he took a big step towards ending that wait on Boxing Day as he was included on the bench against the Seagulls.

And Mourinho explained how the 27-year-old has gone up in his estimation with his gesture ahead of the game.

“Lamela, 57 or 58 days without the team, trained with the team twice after all that time and he came to me and said ‘I think you need me because you have injuries or suspension, if you need me for 10-15 minutes I’ll be there’. If we needed a goal then he was there for us. That sort of thing touches me,” he said, as reported by Football London.

Lamela deserves all the praise that comes his way. He has come in for a lot of criticism during his time with the club. But his popularity seems to have gradually increased over time.

It is clear just how much quality he possesses. If he can stay fit for a prolonged period, he could potentially be a revelation under Mourinho.

The head coach’s comments suggest that there is already an enormous amount of respect going both ways.