Carlos Vinicius has admitted that he learned a lot during his loan spell at Tottenham Hotspur last season even though it was not easy warming the bench for large parts of the campaign.
Vinicius did not get as many opportunities as he would have hoped for during his season-long loan spell at Spurs as he played second fiddle to Harry Kane throughout the campaign.
Despite his lack of game time, the Brazilian certainly showed that he was capable of finding the back of the net, scoring on 10 occasions for the Lilywhites last season.
However, he did not do enough to convince Tottenham to take up the £36m option to sign him permanently.
The 26-year-old eventually completed a two-year loan move to PSV Eindhoven on transfer deadline day, with the Dutch club having the option to make the deal permanent.
Vinicius has now admitted that he became a better player at Spurs by learning from Kane, who the Brazilian showered praise on.
He told Portuguese outlet, Zerozero.pt (as relayed by InsideFutbol): “Yes, at times Tottenham wanted to [buy me], but ended up not being able to.
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“In relation to Kane, no comment is needed. He’s a great striker. For me, he’s among the top three strikers [in the world] today.
“I’m glad I learned so much [from him] even though I was his substitute.
“In that situation, you only have two options: either let go, or learn and, in the minutes they give you, prove your worth. That’s the one I chose.
“I took advantage [of the minutes I received], did my best, proved my worth and I believe the Tottenham staff, including the fans, liked it.
“It wasn’t easy for me because, in my position, he is one of the best forwards in the world.
“I tried to get the most out of training, games and everything that involved the Premier League.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Vinicius’ attitude and work rate were exemplary last season and he always seemed to give his all whether he started or came on as a substitute. The 26-year-old was a little unlucky not to have had more opportunities in the Premier League.
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