Tottenham Hotspur loanee Mason Melia missed Lincoln City’s 4-0 defeat against Bournemouth last night, prompting discussion around his role at the club.
City beat off 30-odd clubs for the attacker’s signature, but his involvement has been limited to one start against Blackpool and three short cameos. He failed to make the matchday squad for the game against Southampton this weekend, and was again not included as the Imps went out of the cup last night.
Ryan Christie’s hat-trick and a late Rayan strike gave the scoreline some real gloss, but Melia wasn’t involved. Most of the other fringe players got minutes, and it felt like the sort of game we’d expect to see the 18-year-old, at least for a short period.
The Stacey West has learned that the young attacker was not omitted because he was the sixth loan, nor because of a lack of belief from the coaching staff. Indeed, we understand he would have been in the squad for the game, but pulled up in training on Monday.
The former St Patrick’s Athletic player felt his quad as the team prepared for the game, which ultimately ruled him out of getting competitive minutes. Up until then, he had been a part of Chris Cohen and Tom Shaw’s wider selection, although it is not known if that was from the start or on the bench.
Sadly, the nature of the game left very few players with a chance to shine in the attacking area. Bournemouth showed their utter Premier League quality with a ruthless display, peppering the Imps with 36 shots and enjoying the bulk of the possession. In attacking areas, there was nothing for the Imps to exploit, with just two shots in our favour, and one on target.
That does not mean Melia would not have benefited from the experience. He arrived at Sincil Bank with a significant reputation after scoring 21 times in 76 league appearances for St Patrick’s Athletic. His performances persuaded Tottenham to agree a deal reportedly worth an initial €2 million, potentially rising to €4 million, a record fee for a League of Ireland player.
Despite his age, he has already played European football and represented the Republic of Ireland at senior level, making two appearances after debuting against Qatar in May. He also travelled to Australia with Tottenham during pre-season and featured for their first team against Sydney FC before joining City on loan.
That pedigree explains both the excitement surrounding his arrival and the scrutiny over his limited involvement. However, there is no suggestion that City have lost faith in Melia or that his loan is not progressing as planned. Monday’s injury was simply unfortunate timing, denying him an obvious opportunity to gain valuable minutes.
Once fit again, the challenge will be to force his way into a competitive attacking group and begin demonstrating the potential that attracted so much interest during the summer.