Lucas scored twice in Man Utd win as Winks stepped up recovery
Thursday 30 August 2018 11:22, UK
Tottenham may not have made any summer signings but the form of Lucas Moura and the return to fitness of Harry Winks has given Mauricio Pochettino's squad a boost, writes Sven Alexis...
Lucas was the star of the show at Old Trafford on Monday, scoring twice to help Spurs to a 3-0 win over Manchester United and scooping the man of the match prize in the process.
Only Luke Shaw completed more dribbles in the match while only Romelu Lukaku and Fred had more touches in the opposition box.
Lucas' double takes his tally to three in three games and with 248 minutes under his belt, he has already played more for Spurs in the Premier League this season than he did last term after joining in January from Paris St-Germain (208 minutes).
He has been involved in eight goals in his eight starts in all competitions for Spurs (four goals and four assists) and, since his first start at Rochdale in the FA Cup on February 18, he has begun to establish himself as an important player for his new club.
The speedy forward may just be the final piece in the Spurs jigsaw for them to seriously challenge for the title this season. In the absence of Heung-Min Son, he gave the Spurs attacking thrust - his average position was the most advanced of any player and he had more touches in the box than Harry Kane - and pace on the break.
There have only been three goals scored in the Premier League this season defined as "fast breaks" by Opta - and two of them have been scored by Spurs, with Lucas netting one of them at Old Trafford.
But his form should come as no surprise. While the arrival of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe at PSG in the summer of 2017 limited his involvement in the first part of last season for Unai Emery's team (he managed 85 minutes from six sub appearances) his stats from 2016/17 demonstrated his quality.
Lucas scored 19 goals - only bettered by Edinson Cavani - and recorded 11 assists in all competitions in 2016/17, the best scoring season of his career.
If he can reproduce those levels for Tottenham, Pochettino will have a real threat at his disposal.
Another player who must feel like a new signing at Spurs is the club's new No 8, Harry Winks.
The 21-year-old was sidelined by a long-term ankle injury at the end of last year but made his first two appearances of 2018 with substitute cameos against Fulham and United.
Winks was a regular for Spurs between September and December 2017, earning an England cap and winning praise for his performances in the Champions League games against Real Madrid and in the home league win with Liverpool.
The Tottenham midfielder was pivotal in Spurs coming out of those three matches with an aggregate score of 8-3. He misplaced just four of his 45 passes in the 1-1 draw at the Bernabeu, and Pochettino will welcome the control Winks brings in the centre of the pitch.
In the last three months of 2017, Spurs won 11 and lost just two of the 15 games Winks started, suffering defeats away to both Manchester clubs. Only Mousa Dembele had a higher passing accuracy for Spurs than Winks during that spell.
Winks and Lucas will be targeting far more game time this season, starting with the Sky Live clash with Watford on Sunday. And the signs are they could play a key role in the season ahead.
If you're reading on skysports.com comment below to get involved in the debate, but please adhere to our House Rules. If you wish to report any comment, simply click on the down arrow next to the offending comment and click 'Report'.
