Jamie Redknapp believes that Carlos Vinicius has a tough job on his hands to prove that he can cut it at the Premier League level without getting a run of games under his belt.
Most of Vinicius’ minutes this season have come in the Europa League and the domestic cup competitions and the striker has proven his ability in front of goal in the few opportunities that have come his way.
The Brazilian is yet to start a single Premier League game for the North Londoners since arriving on a season-long loan deal from Benfica in the summer.
Despite Harry Kane being out injured, Jose Mourinho did not hand the 25-year-old a start against Brighton on Sunday, opting to use a front three of Son Heung-min, Gareth Bale and Steven Bergwijn instead.
However, Tottenham did not look much more of a threat going forward after the striker came on at the start of the second half as he provided a physical presence upfront for the likes of Son and Bergwijn to play off.
Redknapp admitted that it will not be easy for Vinicius to hit the ground running if he is now suddenly thrown in the deep end against Chelsea.
The pundit told Sky Sports Premier League (9:46pm, January 31, 2021): “He scored a hat-trick in the FA Cup game, and he looks okay. I have heard good reports about him in training.
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“But it’s tough. He is not getting a lot of game time, and you are expecting someone to come in and hit the ground running.
“It is not as easy as that when you are playing in FA Cup games against teams that aren’t to this Premier League level.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Our best-attacking outlet against Chelsea, who are likely to dominate the ball, is likely to be a quick switch when we win the ball back. For that, we need a player capable of pinning defenders back and holding the ball up. So, Vinicius simply has to start on Thursday.
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