Former Tottenham striker Darren Bent has admitted he is confused as to why Lucas Moura remains to be a backup option for Spurs.
Speaking to Football Insider, the former England international revealed he was baffled by Mauricio Pochettino’s decision to bench the Brazilian attacker against Manchester City last weekend.
Bent said: “You have to say to yourself how does a man who scores a hat-trick in a Champions League semi-final still not start games? It defies belief. I don’t understand it.
“Again he was the hero. Comes on, doesn’t sulk about it, I’m sure he was disappointed about it but he doesn’t sulk, comes on and scores an absolutely fantastic header. One thing I’ll say about him is he’s small but he’s very, very brave to put his head in there. I’m delighted that he’s got that goal.”
Lucas made an instant impact coming on as a substitute against City on the weekend, scoring with his first touch of the ball to hand Spurs a point in a largely one-sided game that easily could have seen Pep Guardiola’s side claim all three points.
The former PSG attacker was responsible for arguably Spurs’ greatest night in football when the winger scored a second-half hat-trick against Ajax in the Champions League semi-final, the third goal being in the 96th minute of injury time, to send Pochettino’s side to their first-ever European Cup final.
Although Lucas was the talisman of that magical night in Amsterdam, the Brazilian has largely been used as a squad player by Pochettino. The 27-year-old made just 29 starts last season for Spurs, making 49 appearances in total as numbers from Transfermarkt show as the winger hit 15 goals in all competitions for Tottenham.