Robinson claims Spurs striker ‘went missing’ against Newcastle

Paul Robinson has admitted that he was disappointed with Carlos Vinicius’ performance in Tottenham’s 2-2 draw against Newcastle United on Sunday. 

Jose Mourinho decided to keep faith in Vinicius after the Brazilian’s impressive performance in Tottenham’s 2-0 win against Aston Villa before the international break. 

The 26-year-old partnered Kane up front, with Son Heung-min being left on the bench. 

While Vinicius’ effort could not be faulted as he constantly made runs down the channels and looked to occupy Newcastle’s centre-halves, his performance was lacking in quality. 

Mourinho replaced the on-loan Benfica man with Son at half time but the substitution did not have the desired effect as the away side failed to finish off the game with a third goal and eventually conceded a late equaliser.

It was reported two weeks ago (Correio da Manha via The Express) that Spurs want to sign Vinicius permanently in the summer but wish to negotiate a lower fee than the £38m option in the loan deal. 

However, the striker would have to play much better than he did on Sunday if he is to convince Mourinho to give the green light for a permanent deal.

Robinson admitted that he was not surprised to see Vinicius being taken off at the interval.

The former Tottenham goalkeeper told Football Insider: “I didn’t think Son would be fit enough to start, so I expected Vinicius to play.

“He was very impressive last month, he did very well against Aston Villa but let’s be honest he went missing against Newcastle.

“It was no surprise to see him get brought off. He didn’t really get into the game at all.

“He was ineffective against Newcastle and Kane was the only one that carried a real threat going forward early on, it was disappointing.”

Spurs Web Opinion 

While Vinicius has a very good goal to games ratio, most of his goals have come against sub-par opposition. While his effort and attitude cannot be faulted, the Brazilian has not shown enough quality this season to suggest that he could be a long-term option for us. I expect him to return to Benfica at the end of the season and for Tottenham to enter the market for another striker.

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