Transfer news: Erik Lamela arrives in London to complete £30m move to Tottenham Hotspur

Gareth Bale exit will be sanctioned once arrival is confirmed

Staff,Simon Johnson
Wednesday 28 August 2013 12:51 BST
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Erik Lamela
Erik Lamela

Tottenham target Erik Lamela is in London to complete a £30m move to White Hart Lane.

The Evening Standard report that the Roma forward has been offered a £66,000-a-week contract to move to north London.

It is expected that the deal will go through later this week, perhaps before the second leg of their Europa League qualifier against Dinamo Tiblisi on Thursday - and once it does - it will pave the way for Gareth Bale to move to Real Madrid.

21-year-old Lamela predominantly plays on the wing and made a huge impact in Serie A last season, scoring 15 goals in 35 games.

It is understood that Spurs have been in talks with Roma 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.

It was significant that he was left out of Roma’s starting XI against Livorno on Sunday.

Should the deal go through, it will see Spurs break their transfer record for the third time this summer, having paid £17m for Paulinho and £26m for Roberto Soldado.

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

Bale was meant to be at training today having been told to return from Spain, however, despite returning to England, he skipped the session.

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.

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