Erik Lamela's Experiences Show Why Tottenham Must Be Patient with Nkoudou

Tottenham Hotspur's final match before Christmas 2013 was an important one for Erik Lamela.

The attacking midfielder had a tough few months finding his feet in the Premier League after joining from Roma that summer. Five appearances and a smattering of cup and European starts did not prove useful to a quick adjustment to the hectic, often physical English game.

Paul Gilham/Getty Images

Away at Southampton on that cold December Sunday, Lamela showed signs he was beginning to get the hang of it all. He helped create one of Emmanuel Adebayor's two goals in the 3-2 Spurs win and offered a few other nice flourishes, altogether looking more comfortable with the game's tempo.

After another two appearances that month, injuries kept the Argentinian out for the rest of the season. That game may just have been enough to reaffirm in his mind he could deliver in the Premier League.

The opposition manager that day was one Mauricio Pochettino. You wonder if he took note of his compatriot's performance and had it in mind when he took over at Tottenham the following May.

The patience the Spurs boss showed in Lamela from Day 1 has been well rewarded, last season especially as the now-24-year-old played a significant part in the club's title challenge.

Pochettino would be wise to show similar faith in Georges-Kevin Nkoudou.

The winger, signed from Marseille in August after protracted transfer negotiations, also had five league appearance to his name before Spurs' final pre-Christmas game this season.

Unlike Lamela, Nkoudou did not get the opportunity for such a showcase.

Up until now he has started just once since joining, in the EFL Cup defeat to Liverpool. He made his debut as a substitute against Gillingham in the previous round of the competition, but he has had only cameos off the bench since.

Jan Kruger/Getty Images

Speaking about Nkoudou earlier this month, Pochettino alluded to his recruitment being something of a risk, but also noted he had not expected it to pay off this early anyway.

"We cannot be unfair with Nkoudou because it's difficult to assess him so early," he said, per the Hertfordshire Mercury's Matt Storey. "We need to give him more time and he needs to show his real quality and build his confidence.

"He is very young, he came from Marseille and he had only played for half a season, now, not to play very much. He is very young, he is potentially a good player but you cannot put the responsibility from day one and say 'come on, you need to perform.'"

Nkoudou, signed for a reported £9 million, has not come burdened with the same expectations Lamela did.

While the Frenchman gained increased attention for his work with Marseille in Ligue 1 and the Europa League, the latter's reputation was already well established despite his tender age. Spurs spent in the region of £30 million to bring him from Roma as one of seven signings made in anticipation of the sale of star man Gareth Bale to Real Madrid.

Lamela's early struggles under then-manager Andre Villas-Boas and the subsequent injury problems in the second half of his first season saw critics quick to label him a flop. Even a respectable, albeit somewhat inconsistent 2014-15 following the appointment of Pochettino failed to convince many outside observers.

It was understandable to an extent. Even for the ridiculous modern market, Spurs spent a considerable sum on Lamela. The lack of an immediate return was difficult to fathom for some.

But from that Southampton game onward, there were enough encouraging shows of his Premier League suitability to suggest the skillful yet dogged Argentina international was worth persevering with.

Julian Finney/Getty Images

Contributing to big wins over Manchester City and Manchester United, and plenty more besides, Lamela showed the virtue of patience last season.

Nkoudou has veered between similar challenges acclimating to the English game's rhythms and some mouth-watering demonstrations of the effect his quick, penetrating wing play could have on this Tottenham team.

His signing was an admittance from Pochettino that the squad lacked natural width. While full-backs Danny Rose and Kyle Walker are major threats down their respective flanks—and have been in strong form in recent weeks—defensive responsibilities mean they cannot always be utilised stretching the opposition further forward.

Spurs have lacked that kind of pacy presence since the departures of Aaron Lennon and Andros Townsend. Nkoudou was and still hopes to be a correction to that.

After getting a feel for things against Gillingham, he received his Premier League debut three days later against Middlesbrough. Coming on in the dying moments, there was little time for the 21-year-old to make an impact as Spurs saw out a 2-1 win.

The following week Nkoudou get a more substantial run-out in the Champions League win over CSKA Moscow. Here the left midfielder's new supporters got a glimpse of the turn of pace and how effective his specific targeting of opposition full-backs could be. His work helped Spurs round off a 1-0 victory.

"I was born that way—I've always had my explosiveness and speed," the new man told Tottenham's official website upon his arrival. "I've kept these qualities and I can't wait to show them on the pitch. I don't know how I got them but I intend to use them as best I can!"

Doing that since the game in Russia has been difficult.

Epsilon/Getty Images

A late run-out in the 2-0 win over Manchester City followed CSKA, but Nkoudou would not get more minutes until the aforementioned cup game against Liverpool at the end of October, after the international break. That proved a mixed night for him. Unable to get going offensively for most of the game, he did help out getting back on a few occasions.

Since then it has been a similar pattern of a few substitute appearances and then a stretch of not much at all.

Nkoudou gave a decent account of himself away at league-leaders Chelsea as Spurs unsuccessfully fought to get back into the game, as well as a lively half hour in the home match with CSKA Moscow. He was unlucky not to get an assist after teeing up Toby Alderweireld with a great cross.

It is very much a chicken-and-egg situation.

Pochettino has not quite seen enough from Nkoudou to move him ahead of a Christian Eriksen or Heung-min Son. But proving he can perform consistently is difficult without the match-time to truly get a handle on Premier League football.

"When I enter the pitch I just want to play well, put on a good performance, listen to what people can teach me and show my strengths within the team in order to get better," Nkoudou said in September. He has since spoken further to Tottenham's website about his contentment so far in his new country. A recent photograph he posted on social media of the team's Christmas party suggests he is enjoying himself too (see below).

The player appears to understand his becoming a success in north London will not happen overnight. So long as he keeps up his healthy attitude, his manager should be happy to keep working on making him ready for more substantial first-team action.

Unlike in Lamela's adaption period, Tottenham are now among the legitimate contenders—or at least hopefuls—for the Premier League title.

It may be more difficult for Pochettino to give Nkoudou the sort of time he needs. But so far there has been enough evidence to suggest it will be worth him sticking at it.