Mourinho hands Tottenham star ultimatum as he plans for next season

Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho will hand Erik Lamela an opportunity to prove why he deserves a place at the club next season, according to a report.

Lamela is one of Spurs’ longest-serving players after joining from Roma for a then-club-record £30million.

However, he has suffered a string of injuries since then and now finds himself down the pecking order and reports claim Mourinho is preparing to sell the Argentine.

According to Football Insider, that remains the case, with Spurs ready to listen to offers for the 28-year-old.

Indeed, the source says that stance will not change unless there is a “change of heart” between club and player.

That change in mood could arrive if Lamela puts in solid performances before the end of the season, the report adds.

Mourinho is planning for his first full season in charge and wants to know whether he can count on Lamela.

The attacker has two years left on his contract and Spurs would unlikely be able to recoup £30million if they sold him, with many clubs looking to scale back spending due to the impact of football’s recent shutdown.

Indeed, a report claimed Premier League clubs will lose £1billion in revenues due to the pandemic.

As for Tottenham’s spending, Spurs will operate on a reduced budget.

Mourinho’s side are the only club to take out a Bank of England loan – worth £175million.

ALLI CREATES TOTTENHAM DILEMMA

Tottenham restart their Premier League campaign against Manchester United in north London next Friday.

Spurs, who had injuries earlier in the season, look well-placed following the break but Dele Alli will miss the return.

The FA banned the England international for one match and fined him £50,000 for an offensive video filmed in February.

Alli said in his hearing that a contact on his Snapchat friends’ list – who leaked the video – betrayed him.

Elsewhere, Spurs have a strong squad after Harry Kane, Moussa Sissoko and Son Heung-min all recovered from injury.

Kane and Sissoko have not featured since January with hamstring and knee complaints, respectively.