It took the Brazilian more than half a season to adjust to English football, but a solid start to 2018-19 has seen him crowned Player of the Month

The phrase “like a new signing” might well seem like a particularly cruel joke for Tottenham fans this season given their fruitless summer transfer campaign, but in the case of Lucas Moura it’s actually true.

Ahead of Saturday’s meeting with early pacesetters Liverpool he has been their standout individual, and collected the Premier League’s first Player of the Month award for the season. It was well deserved.

In August, he scored his first Premier League goal for Spurs – a lovely left-footed shot at Wembley in a 3-1 win against Fulham – and added two more goals in the destruction of Manchester United at Old Trafford.

After a summer in which Spurs supporters were frustrated by a lack of fresh faces, the 26-year-old signed from Paris Saint-Germain in January has helped them forget their transfer problems. If he was seen somewhat as damaged goods back then – he’d barely played 70 minutes of Ligue 1 football that season for PSG – he is once again showing the kind of form that persuaded the French side to fork out some €40 million (£36m/$47m) to Sao Paulo for his services back in 2013.

Once upon a time he was seen as the coming talent in Brazilian football and was even reported to have turned down United’s advances to strike out in Paris. While the league titles flowed – four in all – it had been a long time since he could be described as a starting player at Parc des Princes.

Neymar and Kylian Mbappe arrived after PSG surrendered their title to Monaco, and Lucas ran out of opportunities. Still, here was a Brazil international with more than 30 caps to his name and a proven pedigree in Europe available for a pretty low price considering the levels of the market. If Spurs could get him up and running then there was a good chance he’d shine.

The initial signs were promising as he made his debut away at Rochdale on a bitingly cold February afternoon. He scored and played well. But from then to the end of the season the kind of productivity that Mauricio Pochettino was looking for only appeared in flickers.

It has been a slow and deliberate process for Lucas to get up to speed with the English game and with the demands of his manager. And, over the course of the past few weeks, he has shown to the wider world that he is ready to come to the fore.

Nine of the Tottenham squad went as far as the World Cup semi-finals, meaning their involvement in pre-season was severely curtailed. Indeed, many of that number only joined their team-mates the Monday before the season started at Newcastle. That meant players like Lucas would have a full pre-season to impress the manager.

Lucas has spoken quite openly about his first six months in London representing a period of adaptation, and his performances on the United States leg of Tottenham’s pre-season tour demonstrated that he would have a key part to play in the first team this season.

Son Heung-min’s international exertions over the past month – winning a gold medal at the Asian Games for South Korea – mean that he has been restricted to only 10 minutes of Premier League football so far this season. That absence has in turn opened the door to Lucas.

But it’s not a like-for-like replacement. One of the benefits of not adding any players means that Pochettino has a squad that does not need to be bedded in. They are ready to work in whatever shape the manager asks.

And through the season so far they have moved quite seamlessly between a back three and a back four, between three and four midfielders, and up front they have been fluid from game to game as well.

While Harry Kane’s status as the central striker is non-negotiable, how Tottenham get the ball in and around the frontman has changed. Ben Davies or Danny Rose on the left and Kieran Trippier on the right will still get forward to add width to the attack but there has been a noticeable emergence of a strike partnership up front.

Kane and Lucas are working in tandem – as evidenced by the Brazilian’s second goal against United – and that added pace and dribbling ability has given Spurs an extra dimension. Once regarded as an orthodox winger, Lucas is showing that he can excel from the centre as well in going by markers and opening space in the final third.

And when he goes up front it allows Christian Eriksen to wreak havoc from a central position at the top of the midfield diamond.

The defeat to Watford was painful and stopped Tottenham’s good start to the season in its tracks. But there is the opportunity this weekend to gain ground on one of the league’s leading lights.

Liverpool have won all of their four matches to this point and come calling at Wembley as England’s in-form team. But this is a Spurs side who took four points from Jurgen Klopp’s men in the league last season and have the weapons to make life difficult again.

If Liverpool press high and leave a pass available for Lucas then they could well be on the receiving end of the Brazilian’s talents just as United were at Old Trafford last month.

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The midfielder has done little to silence the rumours surrounding his future but his manager does not get the sense he wants to go

Jose Mourinho does not believe Paul Pogba wants to leave Manchester United because the midfielder has “never” asked for a transfer.

Barcelona are said to be targeting the 25-year-old amid reports he wants to leave United in January and has a bad relationship with his coach.

The France star only aided the constant speculation when he failed to rule out a January exit from Old Trafford last week .

However, Mourinho has no reason to believe the World Cup winner has his heart set on leaving.

“Paul came back after the World Cup the week before we started the Premier League,” he told reporters. “We are together two months or so. He never told me he wants to leave. Never. He never told me he wants to leave.

“I can only comment on what is real for me, not in what I read, not in what I listen. I have no direct relation with the people that write or the people that listen. I have a direct relation with the players – not only Paul – the players. And he never told me he wants to leave.

“If he doesn’t tell me he wants to leave, it’s because he wants to stay. That’s my conclusion, no?”

While Pogba is under contract until 2021, United are in danger of seeing Luke Shaw, Juan Mata and Ander Herrera leave for free as their contracts expire at the end of the season.

But Mourinho is confident the Red Devils can convince them to extend.

“I hope they will stay,” Mourinho said. “We had a similar conversation last season about Marouane [Fellaini] and I was always saying I hope he stays, I believe he stays. I say the same. I hope they stay. 

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“Of course, I am happy with the players. Luke’s evolution made us believe he goes in the right direction and of course I want to keep him. 

“Juan and Ander, even if they are not playing or not playing a lot, not starting matches, by the personality point-of-view and character point-of-view, by what they represent in the modern society in football, they are almost unique pieces that I also don’t want to lose.”

West Ham ended their losing streak at Everton on Sunday, but it came at a cost as the Austrian suffered an injury setback

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Marko Arnautovic was unable to reassure West Ham fans about the knee injury he sustained in Sunday’s 3-1 win at Everton, acknowledging he is in a lot of pain.

Arnautovic played a vital role as the Hammers picked up their first points of the season at Goodison Park, setting up Andriy Yarmolenko for the opener before scoring West Ham’s third himself. 

But the Austria international had to be withdrawn shortly afterwards, having gone to ground clutching his left knee.

Although he was able to walk off, Arnautovic was not able to downplay the injury.

“I don’t know, we need to check now,” he told Sky Sports.

“It’s not my calf, it’s my knee. It hurts a lot. We will need to check this week.”

West Ham’s initial front three of Arnautovic, Yarmolenko and Felipe Anderson impressed, causing Everton no end of problems.

But Arnautovic was quick to highlight the collective display of West Ham’s midfield, with Declan Rice and Pedro Obiang particularly effective.

“It’s not about us three [the front three],” the forward said. “It starts from the goalkeeper [Lukasz Fabianski] and everyone has done an unbelievable job.

“The midfield was everywhere and then it’s down to us to score goals and win games. Credit to Yarmolenko for his goals.”

From Everton’s perspective, however, Marco Silva feels his side were guilty of mistakes which made things easy for their visitors.

In the end, Silva was left ruing Everton being taught “a lesson”.

“We weren’t good enough to win the match,” said the Toffees boss. “We started well, until the first mistake we made.

“We prepared for the situations when the opponent was on the ball, with Arnautovic, we prepared, but at that moment we did not do what we needed to do.

“We conceded too many chances defensively, but we created the chances to score, a good number of clear chances. It’s a big lesson for us to learn fast.

“It’s the Premier League, it’s the way. Of course you have to improve to see what we did wrong.”

The highly-rated 21-year-old has started all seven games for his club in Ligue 1 this season and is impressing with a series of fine performances

Lyon midfielder Tanguy Ndombele has both the class and the talent required to slot straight unto France’s star-studded national squad, according to his club coach Bruno Genesio.

The highly-rated 21-year-old has enjoyed an excellent start to the new season, starting all seven games for his club in Ligue 1 and helping them to a shock away Champions League victory at Premier League holders Manchester City.

His performance in his side’s first European game of the campaign did little to dispel rumours of interest from Pep Guardiola’s team, while fellow English rivals Tottenham are also believed to have considered an approach during the previous transfer window.

Ndombele only extended his contract with Lyon in September, tying him up until 2023, and manager Genesio believes that the youth international deserves a call-up from Les Bleus sooner rather than later.

“He has to go one last step in finishing, the only thing he needs to become a great player,” the 52-year-old told a news conference.

“He lacks some concentration in the final third but he has the technical quality to do it. He should score between six and eight goals per season, considering his position.

“Tanguy understands the demands of the highest level and gives himself the means to reach it. He has international quality, but it’s not up to me to decide if he will be selected.”

Didier Deschamps will soon announce his France squad for games against Iceland and Germany in October, the second of which is a crunch UEFA Nations League fixture.

The World Cup winners made just two changes on their return to action last month following their triumph in Russia, with goalkeepers Hugo Lloris and Steve Mandanda both unavailable through injury.

Their tie with Germany, in particular, will be a key fixture as Les Bleus look to build on their previous Nations League victory against Netherlands.

Following their Ligue 1 game against Nantes on Saturday, Lyon return to Champions League action as they face Ukrainian Premier League holders Shakhtar Donetsk on October 2.

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The Liga MX side made easy work of the Canadian outfit in the first clash between the winners of the two leagues

Tigres made easy work of Toronto FC on Wednesday night, taking a 3-1 win in the first ever Campeones Cup, pitting the defending MLS champion and Liga MX’s Campeon de Campeones. 

Jesús Duenas was the star of the show, netting a brace that included a stunning second to help his side out in front for good. 

The 29-year-old winger opened the scoring in the 36th minute, latching onto a long ball and fending off TFC captain Michael Bradley before firing past Alex Bono. 

The second came just after the hour mark, with Duenas hammering home from distance after a cleared corner found him unmarked outside the the box. 

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Tigres got some help from Toronto to put the match to bed in the 66th. 

Enner Valencia’s strong run down the right opened things up. Though he was slowed by Toronto’s back line, his attempt to play in Lucas Zelarayan, who was unmarked at the penalty spot, took an awkward deflection and rolled past Bono for the Mexican club’s third of the night. 

Toronto did pull one back from the penalty spot late on, but the damage was far more than the MLS club could fix. 

TFC will have to rebound quickly, with the club facing a grind to return to the MLS playoffs and the New York Red Bulls next up on Saturday. 

Sebastian Giovinco will also be a doubt for that match, having been subbed out against Tigres with calf cramps. 

The Portuguese manager must trust his “experience and intuition” in dealing with the star midfielder, according to the Tottenham boss

Mauricio Pochettino insisted there is no single correct approach to managing player relationships following criticism of Jose Mourinho’s handling of Paul Pogba.

Manchester United boss Mourinho and his star midfielder shared a frosty exchange in training on Wednesday amid talk of a deepening rift between the pair.

The episode played out in full view of the assembled media and followed just a day after Mourinho confirmed he had stripped Pogba of United’s vice-captaincy.

Questions have been raised over the wisdom of airing such issues in public, but Pochettino believes it is a complicated issue which requires case-by-case attention.

“There is not one solution. Nobody is going to teach you, it’s not in a book,” the Tottenham manager told a news conference.

“It’s like in a game. Every single action needs a reaction [using] your intuition, experience.

“When something wrong happens in the dynamic of the group it’s always about your experience, how you are going to manage. But there’s no clear way to behave.

“I think everything is different and you are going to react depending on your emotional state, whether you are in a good or a bad mood.”

United, beaten on penalties by Derby County in the EFL Cup in midweek, return to Premier League duty with a trip to West Ham on Saturday.

Tottenham head to Huddersfield Town seeking back-to-back league victories.

The author of an anonymous op-ed in that ran in The New York Times on September 5, 2018, and created a stir both inside the White House and beyond, has expanded the article into a book that will be published next month. It will be called A Warning, and published by Twelve Books, an imprint of Grand Central Publishing/Hachette Book Group, which announced the publication on Tuesday.

The op-ed titled, “I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration,” bore the heading, “I work for the president but like-minded colleagues and I have vowed to thwart parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations.” It became famous for its insider criticism of President Trump. Its author claimed to be a “senior official” in the current administration. That description was backed up by Times Op-Ed editor James Dao, who said in an interview in the newspaper, that “the writer was introduced to us by an intermediary whom we know and trust,” and that the Times staff verified the person’s identity “through direct communication with the author, some background checking and the testimony of the trusted intermediary.”

Trump responded to the op-ed calling its author “gutless.” Sarah Sanders, the press secretary at the time, called on the person to resign.

The article read, in part:

The new book will be published on Nov. 19. Hachette has said the author will remain anonymous, and royalties from the book will be donated to nonprofit organizations that focus on government accountability and support “those who stand up for truth in repressive countries around the world.”

In this photo taken Thursday, flames and smoke billow from a fire on a target in Ras al-Ayn, Syria. This is the result of shelling by Turkish forces, the same day Turkey and the U.S. were negotiating a cease-fire agreement.

As the five-day cease-fire along Turkey’s border with Syria continues to falter, the commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) tells NPR he thinks the deal is “really terrible.”

Under the deal, announced Thursday by Vice President Pence, Turkey agreed to halt its military offensive into the Syrian border region and the U.S. agreed to help usher the Kurdish-led forces out. Gen. Mazloum Kobani Abdi, top commander of the SDF, said his troops are committed to a temporary pause in fighting — but he is unwilling to fully evacuate his forces from the highly contested 20-mile-wide zone along hundreds of miles of the Syrian border.

Abdi says the SDF only agreed to withdraw its forces from “a few specific points,” not the entire region under discussion. In an interview with NPR’s Daniel Estrin and Lama Al-Arian, the commander said, “We’ve asked for a corridor in order for us to be able to withdraw our forces … but [Turkish forces] haven’t yet opened one.”

Meanwhile, Turkish-backed forces remain in the area. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that if the Kurdish-led forces do not retreat by Tuesday, Turkey will resume its offensive.

On Saturday, The Associated Press reported that the two sides were still trading fire around Ras al-Ayn, a strategic border town.

Intense fighting began after the U.S. rapidly withdrew troops from northeastern Syria earlier this month. U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper told CBS last week that the U.S. would withdraw 1,000 troops in northern Syria. Two U.S. officials close to the conflict told NPR all U.S. forces involved in fighting ISIS in the area would leave.

Members of Congress largely disagree with the decision to withdraw U.S. troops from the region; the House denounced it in a 354-60 vote on Wednesday. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called the decision “a grave strategic mistake” in an op-ed on Friday.

In an interview on Saturday, former CIA Director Gen. David Petraeus told NPR’s Michel Martin that he agrees with McConnell’s strongly-worded assessment. Petraeus, the former commander of Central Command in charge of U.S. forces in the Middle East, said the policy was unfair to Kurdish fighters who had been key U.S. allies in the fight against ISIS.

“The Kurds always used to say … that [they] have no friends but the mountains, and I would reassure them,” Petraeus said. “I would say, ‘Americans are your friends.’ … And sadly, this is arguably a betrayal.”

Petraeus told NPR the withdrawal of American forces has turned what was a stable area in Syria, where more than 10,000 Kurdish-led forces had been killed in the fight against ISIS, into “a scramble.”

As NPR’s Jane Arraf has reported, the short period of conflict this month has led to up to 200 civilian casualties and the displacement of about 200,000 people.

Petraeus said that he understands the desire to reduce the toll on U.S. troops overseas but that in the region being disputed along Syria’s border with Turkey, “we’d essentially done that.”

“We had less than 1,500 [troops],” Petraeus said. He added that those forces included special operations forces who played an important role in the U.S. campaign there — “but surely that’s affordable for the world’s only military superpower.”

“What we were doing was not fighting on the front lines — we were enabling those who were doing that,” Petraeus said. It was U.S. allies — Kurdish-backed forces — “who bore the brunt of the fighting on the front lines.”

Sozda Rakko of the Kurdish Red Crescent, northeastern Syria’s equivalent of the Red Cross, told NPR’s Arraf that she had gotten reports of a hospital bombing along a border city on Friday, one day after the cease-fire agreement was announced.

In a statement on Friday, Kurdish forces said that though attacks had slowed, artillery and drone attacks and gunfire by Turkish-backed militia killed five civilians and at least 13 Kurdish fighters in Syria on Thursday.

“We will not refrain from using our right to legitimate self-defense in case of any attack by Turkish-backed militias,” the statement said.

On Friday, President Trump tweeted that he had spoken with Erdogan, who told him that “there was minor sniper and mortar fire that was quickly eliminated.”

“[Erdogan] very much wants the ceasefire, or pause, to work,” Trump wrote.

Erdogan told reporters that he intends to move some of the millions of Syrian refugees in Turkey to the border area where Kurdish-led forces are being asked to evacuate. Syrian Kurds fear hostility from these refugees and worry that their demographic majority would be threatened in certain areas.

“If we stay on this path, it will have catastrophic consequences that will affect the people of the area and create ethnic cleansing,” Abdi told NPR. “We are asking Trump and the U.S. administration to keep its promises.”

Abdi said he wants Trump to reverse the withdrawal of American troops from northern Syria and reverse the U.S. deal with Turkey — “so we can find a complete political solution to the Syrian conflict.”

Abdi also said his army had not made a deal with the Syrian regime about which areas it would control in the future. Turkey has expressed a desire for the contested border region in Syria to become “buffer zone,” while many see it as a Turkish occupation.

In the meantime, Russian troops are making inroads. As NPR’s Greg Myre has reported, video shows Russians taking over an abandoned U.S. outpost, with half-eaten meals left by American troops on the dining tables.

Eugene Rumer, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told Myre that Russia’s “mission of getting itself reestablished as a major power broker in the Middle East has been facilitated by the fact that the United States has been trying to disengage.”

Trump told reporters earlier this week that he does not mind the Russian presence.

“Russia’s tough,” Trump said. “They can kill ISIS just as well, and they happen to be in their neighborhood.”

On Friday, Trump celebrated the deal with Turkey on Twitter: “Think of how many lives we saved in Syria and Turkey by getting a ceasefire yesterday. Thousands and thousands, and maybe many more!”

Moving forward, Petraeus told NPR’s Martin, the U.S. needs to determine what can be “salvaged” in the fight against ISIS.

“We have to try to get into a political process, in which now Iran and Russia and [Syrian President] Bashar al-Assad clearly have an upper hand,” Petraeus said. “We have to take care of those refugees that are being pushed out of their homes … and somehow, we have to also try to shore up our international credibility at a time when it has been called into question.”

The 23-year-old has made only one start this season and will hope to emulate his team-mate by scoring against his old team on Saturday.

Bayern Munich midfielder Leon Goretzka is expecting a mixed reception when he returns to former club Schalke for the first time on Saturday.

The Germany international, who joined Bayern on a free transfer in June, is looking forward to going back to Gelsenkirchen after being pencilled in for a starting spot.

However, Goretzka does not anticipate receiving the same positive reaction from supporters which Bayern team-mate Renato Sanches enjoyed at Benfica in the Champions League in midweek.

“I think it will be similar to my departure,” Goretzka told Kicker. “There are two camps, the ones who wish you the best and who have understood my change a bit, and the others who are expressing their dissatisfaction. It will be the same on Saturday.

“I guess it will not be quite like Renato’s (return to Benfica).

“For sure this is a special game for me. Personally, I’m just looking forward to coming back to Gelsenkirchen and seeing the old boys again.” 

“I arrived here very well, had very good, intense weeks to start, I am doing very well, I feel accepted.” 

Goretzka’s only start of the season so far came in a 3-0 win at Stuttgart on September 1, but Bayern coach Niko Kovac confirmed the player will face his old club.

Kovac, who left Goretzka out of his squad for the subsequent victory over Bayer Leverkusen and then used him as a late substitute in the Champions League win against Benfica, said the 23-year-old had done enough to earn a start this weekend.

“Leon Goretzka is playing well so far,” Kovac told reporters.

“He has integrated well in the team. I’m convinced that he will do well tomorrow and will be in the starting 11.

Kovac wants his side to put in another dominant performance against Schalke, but admitted it will be a tough assignment for his players.

“Against Schalke we want to pick up where we left off last week against Leverkusen. I’m expecting an aggressive, intensive match.

“If we play our best, we can win this game too. Otherwise it will be difficult.”

Kovac will hope Goretzka can emulate team-mate Sanches by scoring against his old employers, with the Portuguese midfielder netting against Benfica on Wednesday.

Sanches scored Bayern’s second in the 2-0 triumph as he made his first start for the German champions since May 2017.

Kovac praised Sanches and gave a positive assessment of his squad’s fitness ahead of the trip to Gelsenkirchen.

“Renato did very well against Benfica. He justified the faith we have put in him and he will play regularly in the coming weeks.”

“Every player that went to Lisbon is fit. The only absentees from the squad are [Kingsley] Coman, Rafinha and [Corentin] Tolisso. Otherwise everyone is fit and will be available tomorrow.”

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The Manchester United star is adamant hard-working Alexis Sanchez will overcome his woes at Old Trafford.

Paul Pogba is confident under-fire Alexis Sanchez will come good at Manchester United amid his team-mate’s struggles to impress.

Sanchez was an unused substitute in the Red Devils’ midweek Champions League clash but came back into the team over Anthony Martial despite the latter scoring against Young Boys.

However, Sanchez was substituted and heavily scrutinised following United’s disappointing 1-1 draw at home to promoted Wolves in the Premier League on Saturday.

Expectations were high after Sanchez swapped Arsenal for rivals United in January but the former Barcelona forward has failed to justify the huge outlay at Old Trafford, where the Chilean has only managed three goals and none this season.

But United star Pogba, who has voiced his desire for more attacking football from the club ,  is adamant the 29-year-old will overcome his woes in Manchester.

“What you have to know about Alexis is he is a hard worker,” Pogba said. “He trains very well, he always tries to help the team, talks with the team and everything. He will get used to it.

“When you play a long time with another team and you play different football in that other team you have some kind of adaptation that you have to have.

“It’s not that he is playing bad. We know that Alexis Sanchez can bring a lot and I’m sure he will. I’m sure he will.

“But he’s not playing bad and he keeps being positive, so that’s the good thing we have to think about.”

United are back in action against Derby County in the EFL Cup on Tuesday before travelling to West Ham for Saturday’s Premier League clash.