Antonio Conte has told Lucas Moura he will be an important player for him and Tottenham ahead of the new campaign, and Alasdair Gold has suggested the recent minutes at right-wing-back could be a message from coach to player.
Conte recently spoke with the Brazilian forward and gave him assurances he will be a key asset in his squad with less than two weeks until the season gets underway.
Moura opened up on a conversation between the two recently (Football.London): “He was very clear in every conversation. He said I am important for him. It’s good to know. I always talk to him about what he wants from me, and what he expects from me.”
Lucas’ place at Spurs has been somewhat uncertain after telling journalist Andre Hernan (22/06/22 via Sport Witness) of his desire to make a return to former side Sao Paulo in the future.
The 29-year-old, who moved to North London in January 2018, has also attracted transfer interest from Italy with CalcioMercatoWeb claiming Juventus have been monitoring his availability.
However, there has since been little movement towards an exit with Lucas taking up a role with the Spurs squad for their pre-season preparations.
But he has not been used in his favoured forward role for the most part with Conte opting to experiment by deploying him at right wing-back in their three matches so far.
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During Spurs’ tour of South Korea, the Italian coach admitted he held discussions with Lucas about the change of position, explaining he could be a ‘good option’ due to his versatility (Evening Standard).
In a recent article for Football London, Alasdair Gold suggested it felt as though Conte was trying to send a message to someone, perhaps showing Moura he would ‘constantly find ways to give the Brazilian minutes’.
Or perhaps it was a message to some of the out-and-out right-back options, like Matt Doherty, Emerson Royal, and Djed Spence.
Spurs Web Opinion
Conte seems to admire Lucas quite a bit and we have seen that pretty clearly over pre-season by having trust in him to play as a wing-back.
He is a decent option to have in the squad because of his versatility and that is likely why Conte has reassured him of his place in the squad for this season.
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