Over the past few weeks, whenever the French press have mentioned the name “Lucas Moura”, “Chelsea” hasn’t been far behind.
Le Parisien on Tuesday, however, felt like breaking the trend, and, instead of sending the Brazilian forward to Stamford Bridge, feel like Stoke or Everton are far likelier destinations for the 24-year-old.
In fact, the French newspaper state the Premier League’s top six is ‘closed’ to the former Manchester United target, and with the Potters and the Toffees looking for a player with his profile, a move to bet365 Stadium or Goodison Park could be on the cards.
Of course, Lucas Moura would much rather play for Chelsea than Stoke or Everton, but, as his former teammate Jesé found out over the summer, beggars can’t be choosers.
Le Parisien explain the player is ‘stuck in the middle’, and a lot will depend on whether Paris Saint-Germain agree to see him leave on a loan with a view to buy in January.
If they said yes, then clubs like AS Roma (who missed out on Mahrez over the summer) or Inter could come to his rescue.
However, the likelihood of the Ligue 1 leaders agreeing to this seems slim as their FFP situation requires them to bring in around €75m relatively quickly.
This is where Premier League clubs have the advantage, and if Everton and Stoke really are after a very direct right-winger, then €30m for Lucas Moura should do the trick.
