Tottenham are one of several clubs who have been linked with the Paris Saint-Germain winger.
Mauricio Pochettino believes that it will be “difficult” for Tottenham Hotspur to make any quality signings before the close of the January transfer window.
Spurs have been frequently linked with a move for Paris Saint-Germain winger Lucas Moura, who Sky Sports reports is available for around £23m this month.
When asked at his press conference on Thursday about Tottenham’s potential interest, Pochettino did not namecheck the Brazilian but did offer his opinion that there has to be an element of certainty about a transfer for clubs like Spurs to risk spending big money in the winter.
“Last week it was a different name, now it’s another name,” Football London quotes him as saying at his press conference on Thursday. “Always it’s difficult, the transfer window, because it’s only three and a half months of the competition [left] – February, March, April and 15 or 20 days in May.
“It’s so difficult to add players now – quality players that can help us to win games and achieve all that we want. If you want players that arrive to the Premier League or to change the team here in the Premier League, you need to know and be sure if you’re going to invest big money.”
All of Tottenham’s top-four rivals have made signings this window, with Manchester United and Arsenal swapping Alexis Sanchez and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Liverpool acquiring Virgil van Dijk and Chelsea adding Ross Barkley.
However, Pochettino is unfussed about the money being splashed by those around Spurs and is confident that success will come their way if they stick to their principles.
“The most important thing is in the end you have to follow your way,” he added, according to Football London. “You cannot look next to you. You must believe in the way you want to create your philosophy and project. Then what is going on next to us, yes a word about that but you cannot imitate. That is so important.
“You must be strong, and not scared about what happens now. Sometimes you can drop a little bit but if you are strong enough in the future you can win if you believe in the way you make your things.”
Pochettino’s stance is admirable, if not naive, as Tottenham do face being left behind if they do not start investing more money into improving their talented but slightly thin squad.
If low risk, quality and yet affordable are the Argentine’s credentials for a January target, then £23m-rated Moura, who has 46 goals and 50 assists in 229 games for PSG, fits the bill perfectly.
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