8 players who started their club careers very slowly
Adaptation. The ability to adapt to a different surrounding is what defines a person. In an ever-changing world such as this, where most people are constantly on the move, it requires a level of requirement to mix with the unfamiliar masses.We can find a similar thing in football. As players grow up and look to expand their abilities, moves across the globe take place in order for them to join better leagues that would help them in their path to be great players.However, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. Some players turn out to be a little too rigid to adapt quickly to the new environment, resulting in many broken dreams. While some of those players head back from where they came, others just keep walking and ultimately begin playing to their potential.And here are 8 such players who took a really long time to adjust to their new club before getting the ground running.
#1 Erik Lamela
One could almost say that he is the king of slow-starters. The inspiration behind this article, Erik Lamela has finally begun to perform the way many expected him to when Tottenham Hotspurs first announced his signing.
As Gareth Bale’s sale left Spurs with over 100 million Euros to spend, they knew not what to do and mostly wasted them on hasty signings. However, Erik Lamela seemed like brightest of the lot for he was taking Serie A by storm prior to his move.
But, it didn’t work out at as planned. In his first two seasons at the club, he was nothing but abysmal, with flashes of brilliance sparkling after long intervals—giving fans hope that maybe, just maybe he could be the talisman their club paid 30 million Euros for.
By the time the summer transfer window of 2015 began, most fans wanted to see the back of him and he almost did leave for Marseille, but Spurs pulled the plug on the deal at the very last minute after failing to acquire the services of Saido Berahino.
And what a decision that has turned out to be.
So far this season, he has shown why he was earmarked as one of the brightest Latin American potentials of this generation. At Roma, his importance was in his contribution in the attack. At Spurs, however, his defensive contribution has no peers as his robust and tenacious style of play remains one of the key reasons for Spurs’ good defensive – and, in general, overall – run this season.
And it is not that he hasn’t done anything in the final third either, as he has scored 8 goals and assisted 4 times in the 28 games that he has featured in this season.