Tottenham tends to have uneventful transfer windows, but it’s fair to say they did pretty well in January having secured the signing of Brazilian winger Lucas Moura from Paris Saint-Germain in a bid to strengthen their chances of achieving a top-four finish with Liverpool and Arsenal posing a major threat on that front.
The Brazil international was signed for a fee of £23m, which for a player of Moura’s ilk, is a bargain.
Moura had understandably fallen down the pecking order in Unai Emery’s side following the arrivals of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. Having had just six substitute appearances at PSG this season, the hope of more playing time certainly played a major role in his move to Spurs, along with the allure of playing in the Premier League.
Spurs have lacked some pace and directness going forward over the past two seasons thus resulting in Pochettino’s interest in the likes of Sadio Mane (before he joined Liverpool), and Wilfried Zaha, as recently as last summer.
Tottenham’s helmsman may have failed to sign both players, but having acquired Lucas Moura’s services during the January transfer window, it’s fair to say that Pochettino views him as a player capable of adding a new dimension to his side’s attack, and rightly so.
Lucas Moura is a pacey winger with excellent technical abilities. He’s capable of going past players in 1v1 situations thus making him a threat on the flanks, but his exceptional dribbling ability can also allow him to go past multiple players en route to a goal or an assist.
Since his arrival at PSG in 2013, Lucas has gone from being a skilled dribbler with no end product to a winger capable of exploiting space and getting into great positions. While he is yet to become a prolific goalscorer, he’s still adept at finding the back of the net and creating goalscoring opportunities for his teammates.
Last season, Moura featured in 37 Ligue 1 games for PSG, coming off the bench on just eight occasions, thus highlighting how highly-rated he was. He managed to bag 12 goals and 5 assists which are substantial numbers for any wide player.
Tottenham fans will be hoping he can replicate that sort of form going into the final months of the Premier League campaign as Spurs push on for a place in the top four.
Moura has a high attacking work rate which will serve him well at Spurs given the high-paced nature of the Premier League.
While the 25-year-old offers pace, unpredictability and potential, a decent amount of goals, the fact that Pochettino now has an extra player to deploy in the attacking third is one of the best things about Lucas’ acquisition.
It’s no secret that Tottenham lack depth, in the attacking areas of the pitch, but with Moura now in the teams’ ranks, they will be able to cope with the absence of one or two key players up front.
By the looks of things, Tottenham have a great player on their hands, but it remains to be seen whether he can make a big impact at the club.