Transfer Centre

Lucas Moura 'to leave Tottenham Hotspur at end of season'

By Ben Knapton, Senior ReporterPublished: 11 January 2023 11:59 PM

Lucas Moura 'to leave Tottenham at end of season'

Lucas Moura reportedly prepares to leave Tottenham Hotspur at the end of the season after the club decided against extending his contract until 2024.

Tottenham Hotspur attacker Lucas Moura will leave the North London club on a free transfer at the end of the season, according to a report.

The Brazil international, who was already placing second fiddle to Son Heung-min and Harry Kane, has fallen down the attacking pecking order following the arrivals of Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison.

Bryan Gil has also enjoyed a breakthrough period in the past couple of weeks, while Lucas has failed to make an impact in the 2022-23 season due to injury.

The 30-year-old joined Tottenham from Paris Saint-Germain in 2018 and penned an extension one year later, but those terms are now due to expire at the end of the season.

According to The Telegraph, Tottenham had the option to extend Lucas's deal until 2024, but they only had until December 31 to trigger that clause, and they decided not to do so.

Tottenham Hotspur's Lucas Moura celebrates scoring their second goal with Harry Winks and Ryan Sessegnon on January 9, 2022 © Reuters

As a result, Lucas will depart Tottenham when his contract runs out in the summer, and he is currently free to begin pre-contract negotiations with foreign clubs.

It remains to be seen what Lucas's options will be for the 2023-24 season and beyond, but he was understood to have been on the radar of Aston Villa during the summer transfer window.

Spurs were reluctant to sanction a sale, but Lucas has only made 11 appearances for Tottenham due to injury this term, having struggled with a particularly troublesome tendon problem.

The ex-Sao Paulo man is yet to register a goal or assist this season and has played a total of 90 minutes in eight Premier League appearances, all of which have come off the bench.

Tottenham paid £25.1m to bring Lucas to the club from PSG in 2018, and his total for the Lilywhites stands at 38 goals and 27 assists from 213 outings in all tournaments.

Lucas Moura celebrates scoring for Tottenham Hotspur in December 2021 © Reuters

A report from late December claimed that Lucas was in discussions over a possible return to Sao Paulo, but he previously told Sport Flow Club that he would make a decision on his future at the end of the season.

"My plan, to be honest, I want to play football and I want to be in a club that allows me to play at a high level, play in a good league, play at a good level. That's my plan. I still have a lot of firewood to burn, I'm 30 years old, so I'm very young," Lucas said.

"So my thought is to finish this season with Tottenham, try to win a title this season and, free of contract, sit down with my family and listen to the offers that will appear.

"That's when you analyse everything: country, club, financial side. It's analysing everything, and then make the best decision. That's my thought. But now I'm very calm there."

Lucas's tendon injury is expected to keep him out of Sunday's North London derby with Arsenal in the Premier League, but Kulusevski has now returned to training as he battles back from a muscular problem.