(Lucas wants out of PSG after playing second fiddle to Neymar and Di Maria for most of the season)
It has been a quiet window so far for Tottenham fans, despite the Lillie whites currently sitting in 5th for most of the season, it seemed like this Winter Window would be uneventful for the North London side. But as always Spurs Owner Daniel Levy has a few tricks up his sleeve and is close to beating Borussia Dortmund for Paris Saint-Germain attacker Lucas Moura.
Take it back a few years to 2013 as Lucas Moura was tipped to be “the next big thing in world football,” the then 20-year-old rejected the chance to sign for Manchester United and Inter Milan to sign for the Parisian for a then eye-watering £38 million deal.
Fast forward a few years and Lucas has failed to live up to the heights he was tipped to reach, while last season the Brazilian speedster did score 12 goals in 5 assists this season he has all but been overshadowed by the likes of fellow countryman Neymar and Argentine Di Maria. So it is no wonder the now 25-year-old wants out of the French Capital.
A move to North London seems a wise one with a close friend and PSG bad boy Serge Aurier also donning the White of Spurs after the Ivorian’s £23 million move to Tottenham, not to mention the fact that Lucas’s speed and dribbling ability would suit Pochettinho’s Counter-attacking style.
For PSG after a summer transfer window of ludicrous spending, the Parisians need to balance the books or face heavy sanctions by FIFA, and Les Rouge-et-Bleu are still yet to pay Kylian Mbappe’s fee as PSG have only loaned the young Frenchman with an obligation to buy this Summer. For PSG’s finance team, selling out of favour stars seems like the best option to avoid the wrath of FIFA with fellow PSG players Julian Draxler and Javier Pastore likely to follow Lucas to the exit door.
Lucas has been linked to a Premier League move for some time with a number of clubs linked over the years with Manchester United the favourites to sign the out of favour Brazilian Attacker at the start of the window, but with the ever-changing nature of Football situations can change rapidly as players come and go evidently with Manchester United signing Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez.
One man Arsenal who has been linked to replace Sanchez at the Red Side of North London is Borussia Dortmund star Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang with the deal looking ever likely by the day, but Dortmund would only let him go if they should sign an adequate replacement with the German side wanting Lucas to replace the Gabon international. So Lucas joining Tottenham would throw a spanner in the works for Arsenal’s deal for Aubameyang, much to the delight of Spurs fans.
(Lucas’s proposed deal plunges Arsenal fan’s dream of a Henrikh Mkhitaryan- Aubameyang deal into doubt)
The fee being tossed around for Lucas is £25 million with the Brazilian set to sign a four year contract subject to a medical, but the last time Tottenham where poised to sign a tricky South American winger in the form of Willian they where pipped to the signing at the 11th hour at the hands of London rivals Chelsea; a transfer both Chelsea and Tottenham fans have not forgotten.
With only 5 days left in this window, it is clear that Daniel Levy loves a late deal, in fact, he is notorious for leaving deals very late in the transfer window. You only have to look at the last Tottenham arrival Fernando Llorente in the Summer Deadline day stealing him off the hands of Chelsea at the 11th hour to understand Levy’s shrewd transfer business. A deal Spurs fans especially enjoyed after the failure to capture Willian.
Lucas would be a fantastic signing for Pochettino’s side, providing pace, quick feet and arguably better suited to Spur’s system than current Tottenham player Erik Lamela it is clear that Spurs may have struck gold with this deal. At only 25 years-old we could see the Brazilian star at White Hart Lane (upon its reconstruction) very soon, and I for one cannot wait for him to link up with Heung Min Son and Harry Kane as the South American is set to star in the Premier League.