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Tottenham Hotspur’s newest signing Lucas Moura was familiar with at least one of his new Spurs teammates before he signed on Wednesday, and that connection was one reason why he decided to make the switch to the Premier League.
Serge Aurier played with Lucas at Paris St-Germain for a few years before Tottenham purchased Aurier in this summer’s transfer window. Aurier said, speaking to Dan Kilpatrick at ESPN, that he talked to Lucas as he was considering which team to sign with, and tried to convince him to come to Spurs.
“I’m happy. I’m really happy to have him here. I spoke a lot to him before his arrival and I reassured him. I think he made the right decision. He had other opportunities, but I think it’s the best choice for him and for his career.
”I told him it’s an ambitious club, a beautiful club with a really good team. I think he was looking for somewhere where he could have fun again and he has come to the right team.
”It’s a spirited group here, which is not afraid of welcoming new players and in that regard I know what I’m talking about. So he simply made the right choice and now I just hope he’s going to adapt as quickly as possible.”
We’ve seen from the brief videos of Lucas interacting with his Spurs teammates that he appears to be an affable guy, quick to laugh and easy going. That will serve him well at Spurs, which is a tight-knit group of players but accepting of others, a sentiment echoed by Mauricio Pochettino.
#thfc Pochettino says it's good that Lucas already knows Aurier: "I think it’s so important, like Moussa Sissoko was for Serge when he arrived here. But in the end our squad is amazing in this aspect, because all the players are so nice, such good people, and he’s very welcome.”
— Ben Pearce (@BenPearceSpurs) February 2, 2018
Aurier says that Lucas was naturally disappointed at being pushed out at PSG by manager Unai Emery, and hopes that he’ll be able to get his spirit back at Spurs, even as he joins a club that has a lot of attacking talent already on its roster.
“It’s important for a player to feel confidence and joy and here it’s an ambitious club, it’s a young group, it’s a really young group, I think one of the Premier League’s youngest so it’s a really good choice for him.
”Regarding the coach’s choice in Paris, I think everybody wants to play. It’s hard for everyone when a coach make his decisions, I think he understands that but I think it’s behind him today and I hope he’s going to quickly start smiling again at Tottenham.”
Spurs’ first match with Lucas on its roster is this Sunday against Liverpool at Anfield. That might be too soon for Lucas to make his debut, and if he doesn’t play this weekend his next opportunity would be the North London Derby at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, February 10.