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Tottenham Hotspur are considering activating an option to extend Erik Lamela's contract by a year, sources have told ESPN FC. Lamela's current deal -- agreed when he joined Spurs from Roma in August 2013 -- is due to expire in summer 2019 but the club can extend it by a further 12 months to tie down the winger until the end of the 2019-20 season. He and Toby Alderweireld are the only senior players at Spurs not to sign a long-term contract since the start of last season, and if the club choose to exercise their option, it would alleviate doubts about Lamela's future amid interest from other clubs in the Premier League and in Italy. Lamela signed a four-year contract worth around £65,000 a week with the option of two additional years when he joined Spurs in a then-club-record deal worth up to £30 million. The deal has now become a four-plus-two-plus-one, although Spurs are in no rush to activate the one-year extension given Lamela's history of injuries. The 25-year-old Argentina international was sidelined from October 2016 until November 2017 with chronic problems in both hips and Spurs are conscious that in four and a half years at the club, he has missed a year and a half through injury. Lamela's gradual reintegration into the team was accelerated with a start in Tuesday's Champions League round-of-16 first leg against Juventus, where he justified his inclusion with a typically energetic and combative performance in a 2-2 draw. Mauricio Pochettino felt Lamela's experience in Serie A and his intensity would be greater assets than Son Heung-Min's pace and finishing against the Scudetto holders and the Spurs manager is a supporter of Lamela, who has divided the club's fanbase. But, with Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli all but assured of a starting spot in the biggest games, Lamela faces competition for one place in Pochettino's best XI with Son and January signing Lucas Moura -- and Spurs could yet consider substantial offers for the Argentine in the summer. The one-year clause ensures Spurs have an advantage in potential transfer talks and they will not entertain any derisory in bids for a player who is happy at the club and focused on earning a place in Argentina's World Cup squad in the final months of the season. "I'm happy at Tottenham," Lamela said last month. "If not, I would have left. I feel a part of the club. I'm at home here. I am not thinking about how long is left on my contract."
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