Why Tottenham Hotspurs’ move for Brazilian attacker might not be the wisest

Lucas Moura – the man Manchester United deemed good enough but not £45m worth – is set for a move to Tottenham. Reports indicate he could cost more than £20m, a fee Spurs won’t mind paying considering they haven’t signed anyone in the winter transfer window yet.

The need to add a few fresh faces is imperative at Spurs considering they have quite a few games to play in the coming months. Champions League and FA Cup will stretch their squad and they’ll have to remain competitive in the league to push Liverpool who are ahead of the North Londoners in the league table, and keep out Arsenal who are still in with a shout.

The problem is, Lucas Moura might not be the answer to their problems.

Is Moura a one-trick pony?

The Brazilian has a decent start to life in Paris but was often subdued in games. While he has the ability to beat players in one-vs-one situations, Moura’s game is heavily reliant on exploiting space.

The former Sao Paulo attacker has dropped down the pecking order due to the presence of Julian Draxler, Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Angel Di Maria, so a move away from the club seems like a wise choice. Having said that, it’s not going to get much better at North London.

Barring the pace Moura offers, he doesn’t really add anything to Tottenham’s playing XI. The likes of Son Heung-Min, Eric Lamela and Dele Alli are pretty good when it comes to versatility, and their combination play allows Spurs to break defences that tend to apply a low-block. Moura, on the other hand, isn’t the player you’d want on the pitch with a packed defence to unlock.

The biggest disappointment in regard to him is his development. While the likes of Neymar and Coutinho, Brazilian players who are of similar age category, have raised their game and added more attributes to their game over the last few years, Moura has stagnated. That should be a warning to Spurs.

If he does sign, he could have a good few weeks considering the opposition won’t know how to contain him immediately. But like we’ve seen with players like Aaron Lennon, Theo Walcott and Jesus Navas in the past, defending against someone who doesn’t have too many tricks up his sleeve could turn out to be fairly simple.