Jermaine Jenas and Rio Ferdinand have both suggested to BT Sport that Carlos Vinicius may not be good enough for Tottenham Hotspur.
Vinicius couldn’t even make it on to the pitch for Tottenham last night, after Harry Kane went off with injury.
Jose Mourinho opted to bring on Erik Lamela and move Heung-Min Son into a more central role, rather than utilise the Brazilian.
And Jenas and Ferdinand now both have serious questions over whether Vinicius is actually good enough for Spurs.
“I’m still yet to see it,” Jenas said. “I kind of understand why Jose didn’t bring him on the pitch. He’s obviously seen something in training which is making him think you’re not showing me any kind of… he might get there, but Moura would be first.”
Vinicius actually has a fairly credible scoring record for Tottenham, but most his goals have come against lesser opponents.
And Ferdinand is also unconvinced by the Spurs loanee.
“I haven’t seen it,” the former Manchester United defender added.
“He played against Wycombe the other day, he didn’t get a kick in that game. He can’t be sitting there saying [I should be playing].”
If Kane is out for a few weeks as expected, then it is about to be made clear how much faith Mourinho has in Vinicius.
The 25-year-old looks the most natural replacement for Kane in Tottenham’s line-up, but Mourinho does have the option of playing either Son or Lucas Moura centrally, if he doesn’t trust in the Benfica man’s quality.
Tottenham are next in action at the weekend, when they take on Brighton & Hove Albion.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
