Lucas Moura will join Tottenham: So who is the Brazilian?

Tottenham Hotspur are set to complete the £25million signing of Paris Saint-Germain winger Lucas Moura.

The 25-year-old was one of the world’s most promising teenagers when he joined the French club from Sao Paulo for £38m in 2012.

But PSG are now ready to let Moura leave for a Champions League rival, raising questions over what type of players Spurs will be getting.

Here, Sportsmail takes a closer look at the Brazilian…

Lucas Moura is in England to finalise his move from Paris Saint-Germain to Tottenham 

Why has it not worked out for him at PSG?

In fairness, he has appeared in a decent amount of matches, starting 104 league games in five seasons with a further 49 substitute appearances.

But never has he lived up to the potential of his teenage years. It is said that he is tactically naive and can frustrate team-mates. There is one anecdote of a certain Zlatan Ibrahimovic delivering a volley of obscenities in Lucas’ direction after the winger lost the ball following a series of needless stepovers inside the area when he could have passed to his unmarked captain.

Still, though, he has four league titles and three French Cups from his time in the capital.

Wasn’t he a key player last season?

A return of 18 goals from 52 outings tells you that it was his best season yet for the club. Tellingly, team-mate Marco Verratti said: ‘He had great first half of the season, he played a lot. He also took advantage of the coach’s tactical training. He is more complete now.

‘People tend to forget that he is still young and that he will go through difficult periods. I have rarely seen the qualities he has in any other player. One-on-one, he is very hard to tackle. I think Paris will never let him go.’

Verratti was wrong and this season Lucas has appeared just six times. He is well down the pecking order under Unai Emery and there was talk of Manchester United renewing a longstanding interest at the start of this month.

Moura (left, pictured with Marquinhos) had a fine start to the 2016-17 Ligue 1 campaign

Moura (left, pictured with Marquinhos) had a fine start to the 2016-17 Ligue 1 campaign

What is his back story?

He was just 17 when he made his debut for his hometown club, Sao Paulo. His reputation soon grew and it wasn’t long before the likes of United and Inter were checking on the diminutive wideman, who was blessed with speed and skill. Sir Alex Ferguson thought Lucas could mature into the next Cristiano Ronaldo.

Indeed, it was United who rivalled PSG for his signature in the summer of 2012, a year on from his international debut.

He has since appeared 36 times for Brazil — scoring four goals — but he was left out of the squad for the 2014 World Cup in his homeland. That news was confirmed on the same day PSG won the league title and, instead of celebrating, Lucas could be seen crying away from his team-mates.

His last cap came in the summer of 2016 and he has not been included in recent squads.

Sir Alex Ferguson felt Moura could progress in a similar vein to Cristiano Ronaldo's rise

Sir Alex Ferguson felt Moura could progress in a similar vein to Cristiano Ronaldo’s rise

So what type of players are Spurs getting?

He’s exciting, no doubt about that. Lucas will dribble at players and will create chances and score goals. But how consistently he does that is another question. Then there is the issue of discipline and fitting into a system which does not allow for slackers.

Even at 25, it would appear that Lucas still has a lot to prove. 

 



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