The name Lucas Moura will forever go down in Tottenham Hotspur folklore for his remarkable hat-trick that booked Tottenham’s place in their first-ever Champions League final.
However, have his performances since then warranted a place in the current Tottenham squad or is it time for him to be sold?
Having joined in January 2018 from Paris St Germain for a reported £25million, there was great optimism around the signing as Spurs had a player who had won multiple trophies in France and was one of the most exciting youngsters to come out of Brazil.
It was also thought that it would give balance to a Tottenham side that had lacked having two direct wingers since the Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon days.
However, on arrival, he struggled to make an instant impact on the team and only made 6 Premier League appearances in the 17/18 season.
The signing of Moura seemed to look like a huge success after the 18/19 season with the winger contributing 10 Premier league goals including two in a 3-0 win at Manchester United in August and the first hat-trick at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium against Huddersfield Town.
However, it was Europe where he really cemented himself into Tottenham folklore. Scoring the equaliser in the Nou Camp to send Tottenham through to the knockout stages and then his second-half display in the Amsterdam Arena earned him hero status as Tottenham qualified for the final.
MORE SPURS STORIES
It was believed by many that, had he started the final, the result could have been very different.
His form was rightfully rewarded with a new five-year deal that summer but he failed to reach the lofty heights set in the previous season in the final few months of Pochettino’s reign.
When Jose Mourinho took over as manager Moura was a consistent starter in the Tottenham team, probably due to his high work rate and the ability to use his pace on the counter to such great effect.
Although scoring in Jose’s first game in the win against West Ham he hasn’t contributed much in front of goal since, with only five goals and five assists in the past one and a half seasons.
This has now seen him become a bit-part player under Mourinho and, for a predominantly offensive player, this is simply not good enough should Tottenham want to go to the next level.
With the January window closed, Moura will remain at Tottenham at least until the summer.
Questions will be asked of his long term future at the club and his inability to take the ever-increasing burden away from Kane and Son, it may be time to sell Moura and bring in a player who can contribute more offensively.
With all this in mind, it may be time to forget about the historic memories that Lucas Moura has given us fans, for which he will always be remembered, and be ruthless enough to say that he is simply not at the level needed anymore.
Keep up to date with all the latest Tottenham news and opinion by following SpursWeb’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
