Mauricio Pochettino has said Tottenham’s pre-season campaign is providing Lucas Moura and Fernando Llorente with a “massive opportunity” to fight for a place in his first-team plans.
Moura and Llorente, who both struggled for minutes last season, scored two goals apiece as Spurs beat AS Roma 4-1 in their first International Champions Cup match in San Diego on Wednesday.
Moura celebrates after scoring against Rochdale last season.
Llorente joined Tottenham from Swansea City last summer and endured a difficult first year in north London, scoring just five times across all competitions and just once in the Premier League – he has consequently been linked with a move away.
Moura was a January arrival from Paris Saint-Germain. The Brazilian winger failed to nail down a place in Spurs’ starting line-up but impressed in bursts towards the end of the 2017/18 campaign.
And after both players made their mark against Roma, Pochettino is keen for Tottenham’s fringe players to continue staking a claim in the absence of the clubs’ World Cup stars.
“I’m not going to talk about individual situations because if I’m going to talk now about someone then I need to speak about everyone,” Pochettino said, according to ESPN.
“I am focusing on trying to work hard, trying to provide the team and every single player with the best tools to improve.
Llorente was mostly used from the bench last term.
“Of course I am happy when the striker scores and feels the net – Llorente and Lucas Moura. They are working so hard.
“The preseason is a little bit different to before because of the World Cup, and we’ve got so many players away. But it’s a massive opportunity for them to show and fight for a place in the starting XI. Then there are many rumours around the team.
“I cannot talk and I don’t want to talk because I think we need to be focused on trying to work hard and trying to arrive in the best way and in the best form for the first game of the season.”
Spurs are yet to make any signings this summer, although the club has tied down the likes of Pochettino, Harry Kane, Erik Lamela and Son Heung-Min to new long-term contracts.
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