Tottenham Hotspur’s decision to bring on Lucas Moura over Arnaut Danjuma has once again been questioned following their defeat on the weekend against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Has Danjuma played yet for Spurs?
Spurs made the acquisition of the Dutch winger in January and he had an instant impact on his debut as he came off the bench to score in the FA Cup clash against Preston North End.
However, since that game, the 26-year-old has only been afforded a handful of appearances off the bench and did not even come on in the defeat on Saturday.
Instead, the Spurs management team decided to bring on Lucas Moura ahead of the winger who has only joined on an initial loan until the end of the campaign.
And given he is not being provided with the opportunities to show what he is capable of, Alasdair Gold has admitted he was stunned by the decision to play Moura ahead of him on Saturday:
(39:00) “When that board went up at 77 minutes, and it had the number 27 we were a little bit surprised. We were not expecting that.
“I mean, you know, it kind of suggests that, as we always say, that Conte and maybe his coaches, presumably they share the same view, they will just always look experience they will and as the most experienced man, 30, he was turned to.”
Will Danjuma leave at the end of the season?
When Spurs brought the Dutchman over from Villarreal, they included the option to buy the player in case he impressed in the second half of the campaign.
But it is apparent the winger is not even being allowed the platform to prove his worth in north London despite coming on and scoring on his debut.
In the last three Premier League games, Danjuma has started on the bench and has ended the games still sitting in the same seat (via Transfermarkt).
What is perhaps the most bizarre is their decision to play Moura ahead of the Dutchman given the Brazilian is set to leave the club at the end of the campaign.
Although Danjuma is also set to leave at the end of the season, there is the option to make his deal permanent but this feels like a stretch when the forward is not getting the opportunity to show what he can do.
And even if Danjuma is to hit some form over the coming months, it would be interesting to see whether these early stages in north London may have potentially put him off the notion of staying permanently.
Spurs’ last chance of keeping their hopes of silverware alive could come to an end on Wednesday and if they fail to proceed to the next round of the Champions League, it will be intriguing to see where the opportunities will come for Danjuma to play.
Considering Danjuma has already provided Spurs with more goals than Moura this season, it is a worrying sign that he still can’t break into the side ahead of the Brazilian who does not have a future at the club.
