Tottenham head coach Mauricio Pochettino has issued a warning to Lucas Moura, insisting that the Brazilian will have to earn his spot in the starting XI.
The Brazilian moved to Spurs from PSG on deadline day as Pochettino delved into the January market for the first time since moving to England in 2013.
The 25-year-old impressed last season for PSG, chipping in with 12 goals and five assists in Ligue 1, but found playing time hard to come by following the big money arrivals of Kylian Mbappe and Neymar.
However, while Moura is Spurs’ biggest arrival for some time, Pochettino is adamant that the attacker won’t simply waltz into the starting XI.
“For him he’s not going to come here, arrive and say, ‘Oh because he is Lucas Moura and came from Paris St Germain, he’s going to play because he is Lucas Moura’,” Pochettino is quoted as saying by TEAMtalk.
“He needs to show that he is better than our players. That is the fair competition. If you are in Paris St Germain and Neymar arrives, if he is better than you then he plays. It’s fair, he’s better.
“If not, then they need to compete. Lucas Moura must compete with Lamela, with Sonny, with Eriksen.”
Moura is not expected to feature against Liverpool on Sunday, but will hope to make his debut when Tottenham face Newport County at Wembley in their FA Cup fourth replay on Wednesday.
