Lucas Moura reveals reason for joining Tottenham Hotspur from PSG in 2018
Lucas Moura arrived at Tottenham Hotspur from Paris-Saint Germain (PSG) in the January transfer window of 2018 for a fee in the region of £25million.
A good dribbler capable of beating defenders with pace, Lucas’ addition to Spurs’ squad was looked at with much optimism. With manager Mauricio Pochettino in charge, Moura was in good hands.
According to the Brazil international himself, he wanted to leave PSG in order to get playing time elsewhere. He saw the move to Spurs as a chance to turn his career around and wanted to join the Lilywhites permanently instead of a loan transfer.
He divulged this information in a SpursPlay TV documentary titled “Me: Lucas Mora”, as quoted by Football.London.
“I only said that I wanted it to be definitive, not a loan. I was in Paris for five years and I felt that cycle was over. I wanted to go elsewhere. I knew that with dedication and work, things were going to happen in a good way. Without a doubt I was super motivated to turn my career around.”
At the time, the move made sense for Spurs and Lucas. Before his move to the Lilywhites, Lucas only played 79 minutes of competitive football for PSG that season.
He found immense trust under the Argentine manager in his first full season in north London, where he scored 15 times and assisted twice in 49 games across all competitions. A versatile forward, Lucas was majorly used down the middle or the right flank at Spurs.
This campaign, of course, was the one where Lucas perhaps had his most iconic moment in football. He scored a hat-trick in the second leg of the semi-finals against Ajax to send Spurs to the 2019 UEFA Champions League final.
In the comments mentioned above, Lucas talked about reaching the end of the cycle at the Ligue 1 club. Perhaps that may be what is happening here for him at Spurs as well.
A calf injury has sidelined him from first-team action but he only managed just 12 minutes of league football in his first three games this season. Conte now has Dejan Kulusevski, Son Heung-min, Harry Kane, and Richarlison to choose from.
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Where Lucas fits in this equation is hard to say. Maybe this is why Conte tried to play the Brazilian in a new position in the pre-season – as a right-wing-back. The ex-PSG star’s contract at Spurs expires in the summer of 2024 (Transfermarkt).
