Bolasie bosses wing duel

It was a tale of two wingers at White Hart Lane on Saturday – one the exotic record signing who looks increasingly like another expensive mistake, and the other a local boy made good after a circuitous apprenticeship in non-league and the lower divisions.

First the bad news, which Spurs supporters and Daniel Levy may not want to hear. Erik Lamela is simply not up to it. Tottenham’s record signing, at €35m from Roma 18 months ago, showed once again that he cannot cut it in the Premier League. The Argentinian winger may have been a hit in Italy, and shown flashes of that form against lesser opposition in the Capital One Cup and Europa League, but he fails to impress when he has to step up to the level of the Premier League.

Unlike his home-grown team-mate Ryan Mason, who looks just as spindly but shows the strength and appetite to win the ball and use it effectively, Lamela fails to deliver time and time again.