Former Tottenham Hotspur great Graham Roberts has told The Transfer Tavern that Erik Lamela needs to leave the club this summer as part of an exodus involving players who have been “trouble”.

The Argentine has been linked with a move away from Spurs in recent weeks.

Reports have suggested that he could return to Serie A, having moved to Spurs from Roma back in 2013.

The 29-year-old has spent eight years at the club but has been a sporadic contributor when it comes to goals and assists.

£80,000-a-week man Lamela has made a total of 256 appearances for the club across his lengthy spell in north London but he has scored just 37 goals and provided 47 assists.

It remains to be seen if there will be bidders for Lamela this summer but Roberts believes that Spurs have to start to rebuild, and he believes that the time has come for the former River Plate winger to move on.

Speaking exclusively to TT, he said: “We also need to get the ones that have been trouble this year and not played well, we need to get rid of them. I would (include Lamela in that).

“I’m not saying he didn’t play well but if you’ve been here eight years and you’re not in the team every week, then there’s something wrong. I think he’s a good squad player, I think he does really, really well when he comes on or when he plays; I think he’s better off coming off the bench when he plays but do we need him to sit on the bench?

“We haven’t won anything in years and years and years so it might be good for him and it might be good for us that we get some money for him and we move on.”