Reports in France have indicated that Tottenham Hotspur blocked Erik Lamela’s deadline-day move to Olympique de Marseille.
According to La Provence, OM were on the brink of signing the Argentina playmaker on Sunday evening, only for Spurs to pull the plug on the move.
The source report that it was Mauricio Pochettino who opted to block Lamela’s departure, the main reason being that Tottenham hadn’t succeeded in bringing Saido Berahino to the club from West Bromwich Albion.
Ultimately, Berahino remained at The Hawthorns [Standard] and the Argentine coach looks to have been vindicated in his decision to keep hold of his compatriot, even if Lamela has wholly failed to live up to his £30 million transfer tag [via the Daily Mail].
In light of Marseille’s failure, Everton appear to have looked to move for the former AS Roma forward, with Le 1o Sport reporting that the Toffees made a €25m (£18m) bid for the attacker late in the window.
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However, the Blues also apparently failed with their move for the South American, whose nightmare stay in north London looks set to continue for some time yet.