‘Never bury a player’: Frank Leboeuf says £23m Tottenham ace has transformed under Conte

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Frank Leboeuf has told ESPN UK that it’s ‘unbelievable’ how Lucas Moura has transformed under Antonio Conte at Tottenham.

The former France World Cup winner thinks the ‘flying’ Tottenham player is producing his best football since his first season at Paris Saint-Germain.

Ironically enough, it was the Moura substitution during Nuno Espirito Santo’s final game in charge of Spurs that resulted in the home fans booing and chanting ‘you don’t know what you are doing’ to their now-sacked manager.

Well, the new man in the dugout clearly does know what he is doing because Moura has scored four and assisted the same number since the Italian’s arrival in all competitions.

Leboeuf was full of praise from what he was seeing from the Brazil international and how you should ‘never bury a player’ before he has hung up his boots in his career.

“You see Lucas Moura playing, the guy is flying,” said Leboeuf. “The guy is doing back to what he was doing in his first year at Paris Saint-Germain.

“That’s unbelievable how psychologically a coach can change your football. Never bury a player before the end of his career because you never know what can happen during that time. 

“Something can happen fantastically and that’s what is happening with Lucas Moura right now because he’s another player.”

Throughout his career, Moura has always displayed an outstanding ability to control the ball in tight situations, carry the ball with speed and link-up play with his teammates.

Added with all of that, his non-stop work rate is infectious around Hotspur Way and it makes the £23 million signing (BBC Sport) a fan favourite in north London.

But one thing that Moura has always lacked is those goals and assists to truly earn him that recognition that he deserves.

It’s a shame that he needs to boost his numbers to earn that respect because, at the end of the day, the ‘beautiful game’ was coined by those in Brazil and this all-action South American star certainly plays the game in a beautiful way.