Pochettino refuses to discuss Lucas & Llorente rumours

Mauricio Pochettino opted not to discuss the possibility of Lucas Moura moving to Tottenham, although the Paris Saint-Germain winger has been pictured in London.

Spurs are reportedly closing in on a £25million deal for the Brazil international, who has declared himself “gutted” at a lack of playing time in Ligue 1.

Lucas has not started any league games this season and has featured in just six matches in all competitions, with PSG coach Unai Emery confirming he is free to leave.

But Pochettino would not be drawn on Lucas’ expected switch to Spurs, while he also refused to talk about rumours linking Fernando Llorente with a move to Chelsea.

“Yes, I saw him [Lucas] on your channel but not too much to say,” Pochettino told reporters ahead of his side’s home game against Manchester United on Wednesday.

“The club is going to communicate when something happens.

“Fernando is our player and I don’t know anything about that [a deal with Chelsea].

“I cannot speak about rumours, he played the last game against Newport [County in the FA Cup], he’s one player that is in the squad like different players and he’s in our plan.”

Asked what he expects from Wednesday’s transfer deadline day, Pochettino said: “Not too much. Maybe something happens. I cannot confirm nothing. But you need to wait.”

TEAM NEWS: @AlderweireldTob (hamstring), @ChrisEriksen8 (illness), @ErikLamela (gluteus muscle), Hugo Lloris (illness) & Danny Rose (knee) have returned to full training with the First Team. pic.twitter.com/mfXkzMQGsC

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) January 30, 2018

Alexis Sanchez is expected to make his first Premier League appearance for United after joining from Spurs’ rivals Arsenal in a swap-deal involving Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

“I think he’s a great player of course,” Pochettino added. “One more that Manchester United added to their squad.

“Of course, Alexis Sanchez, [Juan] Mata, [Jesse] Lingard, [Marcus] Rashford, [Anthony] Martial, [Romelu] Lukaku, [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic – plenty of talented players. I think it’s one option more and another great player they add to the squad.

“Always it’s important to win. We want to challenge and fight for the top four, so it’s a game we need to win to reduce the gap to them and try to be closer to the top.”

“I always enjoy it [taking on Jose Mourinho] because I think he’s one of the best managers in the world. To challenge him is always nice. It will be good to see him again.”