According to Fabrizio Romano, Aston Villa and Newcastle made late moves to sign Lucas Moura from Tottenham on transfer deadline day.
What’s the story?
Well, the £80,000-a-week man has only played 12 minutes of Premier League football so far this season, having fallen out of favour under Antonio Conte.
The Tottenham No.27 has been left out of the last two Premier League squads by the Italian, and failed to come off the bench in the 1-0 win over Wolves.
This encouraged Steven Gerrard and Eddie Howe to make moves for the Brazil international, although the reliable Romano believes that Spurs decided to keep the South American so late on in the window.
Galatasaray also lodged a bid to sign Lucas ahead of Thursday’s 11pm deadline.
The Turkish giants sent Tottenham an initial loan proposal which included an option to buy the 30-year-old on a permanent basis.
However, a move to the Süper Lig failed to materialise for Lucas.
Aston Villa & Newcastle must keep tabs on Lucas at Tottenham
In our view, the situation isn’t over yet.
According to UOL, Lucas is likely to leave Spurs on a free transfer in 2023 when his contract in N17 expires.
Romano backs up that claim, adding that there is a chance of the man who toppled Ajax on that famous night in Amsterdam leaving for nothing in July 2023.
The £60m arrival of Richarlison has shoved Lucas – a £23m signing from Paris Saint-Germain in 2018 – down the pecking order, and at the moment, it would be very surprising if he signed a new contract with Tottenham.
It will be sad for Spurs fans to see Lucas depart after everything he has done for them, although at the age of 30 and with others ahead of him in Conte’s selection process, it may soon be time for him to depart north London.
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