Tottenham Hotspur head into Saturday’s massive North London Derby against Arsenal with a fully fit squad, with manager Mauricio Pochettino admitting Lucas Moura is also in contention to feature.
Spurs signed the Brazil international from Paris Saint-Germain on transfer deadline day, in a deal that has excited the club’s supporters and added strength in depth in the final third.
Pochettino has stated that he has been impressed by Moura in Tottenham training and that the South American could well play a role at Wembley on Saturday.
“I think he will be ready to be in contention. He’s doing well, training so hard,” the London Evening Standard quotes the Spurs boss as saying.
“He’s starting to feel his legs. We need to assess him tomorrow after the last training session but I hope’s he’s doing well and we can put him in contention.”
Tottenham go into the game as favourites and rightly so given the quality of the side that Pochettino has at his disposal.
In attacking areas it would be a massive shock if Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Son Heung-min and Christian Eriksen did not all start – although one could make way should Spurs go to three at the back.
Tottenham have been accused of being overly reliant on their main stars and lacking strength in reserve, but the current state of play suggests otherwise.
Erik Lamela will be pushing to play a role on Saturday after starring for Spurs in the midweek cup win over Newport County.
Moura brings an x-factor to Tottenham also and having the Brazil international available will only be a positive thing.
Not only will the ex-PSG man offer an extra dynamic option for Pochettino from the bench, but his mere presence will have the likes of Son and Alli looking over their shoulders and motivate them further to play well.
The sensible thing this weekend would be having Moura on the Tottenham bench if he is fit and ready to feature, as Spurs look to strike a hammer blow to their opponents’ hopes of Champions League football next season.