Mauricio Pochettino hails Tottenham’s ‘unbelievable’ Erik Lamela

Mauricio Pochettino has hailed Erik Lamela as an “unbelievable” player and says Tottenham are expecting big things from him next season.

The 22-year-old playmaker scored twice for Spurs as Pochettino’s side ran out 3-2 winners in a friendly against Toronto on Wednesday night.

Lamela netted twice in the first half before Andros Townsend fired in a late winner after a second-half Toronto fightback.

He needs to show us that he deserves to play

Mauricio Pochettino

“We expect a lot from him, he’s an unbelievable player,” said Pochettino.

“He needs to show us that he deserves to play, but at the moment we are happy with his performance.”

The Argentina international endured a disappointing, injury-hit campaign last season, resulting in him making just three Premier League starts for the north London club.

But Lamela, who joined Spurs in a club-record £30m deal from Roma last summer, is determined to prove his worth this season.

“It’s something I would like [to carry my pre-season form into the upcoming campaign], but I have to continue to work,” said Lamela.

“As the season progresses I will continue to get better.

“I felt like I was able to play a good 45 minutes. Overall I think the team did really well and I’m happy with the performance today.

“I had an unfortunate injury last season that kept me out of play for quite some time. In the same way, it’s helped me emotionally and morally to get better and work harder towards this season.”