While they haven’t necessarily seen much success in the modern era, Tottenham Hotspur fans have been blessed with incredible players.
For example, for years, Harry Kane and Son Heung-min were arguably the most dangerous duo in the entire Premier League.
Before that, it was Gareth Bale, Luka Modrić and Rafael van der Vaart who wowed fans on a weekly basis, yet for all the incredibly talented players just mentioned, none of them was able to deliver a moment quite as magical as a certain Lucas Moura.
The Brazilian winger might not have been the best player to grace N17, but he was undeniably talented, lively, and capable of producing here and there, and now it looks like the club might have found their new version of him.
Moura's Spurs' career
Moura joined Spurs from Paris Saint-Germain in January 2018 for a fee of around £23m, which, looking back today, doesn’t seem unreasonable.
His first six months in North London were relatively unremarkable, as he was limited to just 457 minutes of first-team football across 11 appearances, although he was still able to score one goal and provide four assists.
However, it was the following season, the 18/19 campaign, that brought with it his finest moment in a Tottenham shirt and the moment that cemented his place in the club’s proud history.
In the Premier League, he did well enough, scoring ten goals and providing one assist in 32 games, but it was in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final, away to Ajax, where he did something awe-inspiring.
The Lilywhites were already a goal down from the first leg, so when the hosts went in at halftime two-nil up, it felt as if the club’s European adventure had come to an unfortunate end.
However, Mauricio Pochettino must have given the team talk of his life, as Moura came out like a man possessed in the second half and scored a hat-trick, with the third goal coming in the 96th minute.
The former PSG gem would spend the following few seasons in and out of the team, eventually returning to Sao Paulo in August 2023 with a tally of 66 goal involvements in 221 games, but with the appreciation of the fanbase for that magical night in Amsterdam – and now it looks like the club have found their new Moura.
Spurs' new Moura
So, while Brennan Johnson has an eye for goal in him and Wilson Odobert has shown glimpses of something special, neither player could be considered Spurs’ new Moura.
Chalkboard
Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
That title belongs to Mathys Tel, and there are a few reasons for this.
The first is the simple fact that, like the Brazilian, he arrived at Tottenham in January from a massive European club where he was struggling for game-time, this time Bayern Munich.
On top of that, the youngster arrived with quite a bit of hype around him, with journalist Graeme Bailey revealing that Spurs themselves were describing him as “a generational talent.”
That might sound hyperbolic, but in their defence, the “mind-blowing” attacker, as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, scored ten goals and provided six assists in just 1406 minutes of first-team football last season, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 87.87 minutes.
Appearances
41
Starts
10
Minutes
1406′
Goals
10
Assists
6
Goal Involvements per Match
0.39
Minutes per Goal Involvement
87.87′
Finally, like the former Lilywhites star, the Sarcelles-born dynamo is incredibly direct, rapid and capable of making things happen on his own, and had the team been on song against Nottingham Forest on Monday night, he could have easily picked up a couple of assists, as he played five key passes and created one big chance.
Ultimately, while it’s still early on in his career, and there is even a chance they don’t sign him permanently in the summer, Tel looks to be an exciting prospect and someone who could become Spurs’ new Moura.
However, fans might be hoping he can produce magical moments on a more consistent basis than the Brazilian did.
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