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Is Erik Lamela available for transfer at a cut rate?

This would be pretty bad news for Tottenham Hotspur if it's true.

Clive Rose

We're all hoping from a breakout season from Erik Lamela, but he continues to be the subject of rumors linking him to a return to Serie A. The latest comes from Gianluca Di Marzio, who wrote about AC Milan's lack of interest, but cited a potential transfer fee for any club that is interested in the Argentine.

Here's a translation from SB Nation Italia's Jack Sargeant. Emphasis is mine.

There's been no contact between Milan and Lamela. Numerous voices suggested rossoneri interest in the ex-Roma midfielder, but, however, there is nothing. Tottenham, for its jewel that never shone this season, wants 25 million euros, plus additional bonuses. Milan, for now, has not come forward. Lamela remains available, but there has been no contact with the rossoneri entourage.

This was posted on Di Marzio's site for an Italian audience, so his hook is that Milan are not actively pursuing Lamela at the moment, but the part that I bolded is what's interesting to us. He's claiming that Lamela is available for £20m plus add-ons, which, presumably, would add up to the £30m originally spent on him if he were to meet whatever add-on stipulations were part of his transfer agreement.

Personally, I'm against selling Lamela this summer, but it's tough to say it's a bad idea without running his training sessions or doing his medical evaluations. It's quite possible that the club's medical staff and Mauricio Pochettino have concluded he's not going to live up to his price tag. That's a horrible disaster scenario, but it's not outside the realm of possibility.

Di Marzio, it's worth remembering, is the hit or miss king of the football reporting universe. He nails huge stories early much more often than the big English or Italian papers, but he also whiffs Tancredibly on occasion.