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Tottenham are benefiting from Brazil snubbing Spurs star

By Rucker Haringey

SWANSEA, WALES - MARCH 17: Lucas Moura of Tottenham Hotspur warms up prior to The Emirates FA Cup Quarter Final match between Swansea City and Tottenham Hotspur at Liberty Stadium on March 17, 2018 in Swansea, Wales. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
SWANSEA, WALES - MARCH 17: Lucas Moura of Tottenham Hotspur warms up prior to The Emirates FA Cup Quarter Final match between Swansea City and Tottenham Hotspur at Liberty Stadium on March 17, 2018 in Swansea, Wales. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) /
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Lucas Moura is training hard at Tottenham

There’s no doubt that Lucas Moura would prefer to be training with his Brazilian teammates than his Argentine manager right now. Unfortunately for the fleet-footed attacker, Brazil made the decision to leave him off their squad for the current round of friendlies. The snubbing could pay massive dividends for Tottenham.

Even in Lucas’ limited opportunities to impress the Tottenham faithful, he’s shown real glimpses of quality. In many ways he embodies just the sort of player Spurs fans covet most. His offensive skill coupled with his willingness to take defenders on makes him the perfect attacker for Tottenham.

Manager Mauricio Pochettino makes no secret of his admiration for Lucas’ offensive gifts. The Spurs boss has hailed Lucas’ attacking quality as “amazing.” That’s not a term the Tottenham gaffer throws around very often.

Unfortunately, Lucas’ play on the other end of the pitch falls well short of amazing. He can be a passenger when Tottenham don’t have the ball. That’s precisely the part of Lucas’ game that Pochettino is working on this week. He’s going to great lengths to “adjust” the Brazilian’s style of play to fit into the team concept.

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Presuming Lucas is willing to accept Pochettino’s instruction, this International Break could be perfect for both the player and club. There’s no question Lucas has the talent to play a big role for Spurs down the stretch of the Premier League campaign. The only concern is that his late arrival in January might prevent him from getting up to speed.

His special training sessions with Pochettino and his staff give him an invaluable opportunity to catch up with the rest of the squad. While there is some subtlety to Pochettino’s pressing style, it’s more about effort than anything else. That’s precisely the sort of thing Pochettino should be able to teach Lucas with a little one on one time.

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If Lucas takes Pochettino’s message to heart it could be bad news for the rest of the Premier League. A fully committed Lucas on both ends of the pitch could be just what Tottenham need to clinch Champions League football for next season. His skill might be enough to earn them some FA Cup silverware too. No matter how you slice it, Lucas needs to take advantage of his Brazil disappointment and convert it to a Tottenham plus.

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