Mauricio Pochettino has stressed to Spurs supporters not to expect too much too soon from Lucas Moura according to ESPN.
Lucas completed a £25 million move from Paris Saint-Germain on deadline day however Pochettino does not expect the Brazilian winger to face Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.
The article adds how the 25-year-old has made just six substitute appearances for PSG this season after falling down the pecking order at the Parc des Princes and he said he would take time to adapt to Tottenham and to English football.
The article goes on to say the Spurs manager was asked or Moura’s new team mates were excited by his arrival to which Pochettino said: “No, no. Exciting? No. We signed a player that is not playing at PSG. We signed a player who has not competed for six or seven months.
He added: “Of course he’s an exciting name for our fans. He came from PSG, a big club. But it’s different to signing Neymar, Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.
“The expectation is that he can help us in the next three months but we cannot put too much pressure on him. He needs to adapt, know the players, the Premier League, the philosophy of the new team.
Pochettino went on to say: “There’s plenty of examples here — like Son [Heung-Min], Moussa Sissoko, [Erik] Lamela — that they need time. Many quality players struggle in six months or one year to adapt to the team, the club, the Premier League.
He added: “I don’t want to create too much expectation but if he’s an amazing help for us and can score goals, fantastic. But if he doesn’t score form the beginning, it’s not a mistake.”
On Lucas’ availability at the weekend, Pochettino added: “I don’t want to say yes or no, but I don’t believe it will be possible for him to be available.He’s still doing things. Yesterday he was doing some tests with our sports science and medical staff and today he’s in Paris doing private things. We hope tomorrow he can stay here and start to work with the team. But maybe he needs to work a little more to reach the same level as the team.
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