Tottenham Hotspur forward Lucas Moura will reportedly remain at the club this summer after being given a ‘show of faith’ by Antonio Conte, according to Lilywhite Rose insider John Wenham.
The Lowdown: Out of favour
The Brazilian, whose contract with the north London outfit doesn’t expire until 2024, has made 41 appearances for Spurs in all competitions this season, with 24 starts and the 17 outings from the bench, making him more of an impact player rather than a first-team fixture.
A source from N17 told Football Insider in March that the club have no plans to get rid of the 29-year-old during the upcoming transfer window, despite him having fallen down the pecking order since the January arrival of Dejan Kulusevski, and Wenham seems to believe that they have made the right decision.
[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/tottenham-newest-updates/” title=”Tottenham newest updates…” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]
The Latest: Valuable asset
The Tottenham insider has revealed that he is expecting Steven Bergwijn to leave the club at the end of the season rather than Moura, and he is glad that the Brazilian was given a chance after being named in the starting line-up for the 3-1 victory against Leicester City last weekend.
Wenham told Football Insider on Monday afternoon: “Kulusevski not starting was okay with me. People forget he barely played for Juventus and he has barely missed a minute since he’s been here so he needed a rest.
“I like Lucas Moura as a player and I had no issues with him coming in. It was a real show of faith from Conte as well.
“I rate him highly. In short, we will get more money for Bergwijn this summer and they are fairly similar players.
“Of the two of them, I’m certain Lucas is the one to keep. How many memorable moments does he have to his name?
“Even though he didn’t get a goal or anything yesterday, it seems to me he will be the one who stays.”
The Verdict: Future up in the air
The attacker will likely be given the opportunity to prove himself to Conte in pre-season, and the Italian may like what he sees, considering that Moura has averaged 1.7 dribbles and 1.1 shots per 90 minutes when on the pitch this term, via WhoScored.
The £80k-per-week star has been labelled a “bright spark” by Sky Sports pundit Jamie Mackie, and Brazilian’s former teammate Christian Eriksen has even admitted that Moura should be built “a statue” after his legendary Champions League semi-final hat-trick against Ajax three years ago this week.
It will be interesting to see whether or not Conte makes the 35-cap international an integral part of his plans ahead of next season as he looks to reinvent his squad in a bid to secure a top-four finish, but it’s not hard to see why Wenham is advocating a prolonged stay in north London for Moura.
In other news… Spurs have been urged to compete for the signing of this ‘unbelievable’ player in the summer