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Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho has claimed that Erik Lamela is a player that “never hides” on the pitch, which is why he’s a big fan of his.

Lamela, who earns £80,000-a-week (Spotrac), has had well-known injury problems throughout his entire Spurs career, which started back in 2013.

The 28-year-old attacker has seen a calf problem interrupt the current season already, but he’s returned to full fitness now and started back-to-back games.

He played 98 minutes during Spurs’ FA Cup defeat to Everton in midweek, as he played on into extra time during the 5-4 loss.

The left-footed winger produced an excellent composed finish to get himself on the scoresheet and he’ll be hoping for another appearance on Saturday when his team travel to leaders Manchester City in the Premier League.

Mourinho has given a glowing verdict on Lamela ahead of the weekend:

“The first thing I like about him is he wants to play. He wants to assume responsibility. He never hides. He wants the ball,” Mourinho said, as quoted by Football.London.

“He’s a little bit sometimes chaotic, but it’s a positive reason to be chaotic because it’s ‘I want to play, I want the ball, if the ball is not arriving to me I have to arrive to the ball’.

TBR’s View:

If Lamela had not had so much injury problems, it would’ve been intriguing to see how his Spurs career fared.

The Argentine has scored 36 goals in 241 appearances for the North London club, but injuries and a lack of consistency always means fans are hesitant to go too overboard in their praise of him.

He’s certainly a great fit for English football. His fiery attitude and his aggressiveness may be perfect to try help the disappointing form right now at Spurs.