Should PSG Stick or Twist with Lucas Moura?

Runaway Ligue 1 leaders and into the latter stages of the UEFA Champions League with minimal hassle, French champions Paris Saint-Germain look unlikely to be major players in the upcoming January transfer window.

However, a number of Laurent Blanc’s fringe players are of interest to Les Parisiens’ European rivals, and a few tempting offers could arrive at Parc des Princes over the course of the month. One of those seemingly peripheral figures in Le President’s plans is Lucas Moura.

The Brazil international is of interest to ailing English Premier League side Manchester United, per Manchester Evening News' Andrew Jackson, with a £22 million offer from the Red Devils for the 23-year-old suggested.

Although the South American has endured a mixed season so far, PSG are unlikely to sanction his departure in January.

If any member of the capital club’s squad is likely to leave in January, it is Ezequiel Lavezzi. However, it would be difficult for the French giants to find replacements for either the Argentina international or the Brazilian at this juncture.

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Lucas’ 2015-16 campaign started slowly. The PSG No. 7 scored the only goal of the game in a 1-0, Ligue 1 season-opening win away at Lille OSC back in early August but then did not find the net again until late October in a 4-1 home league win over AS Saint-Etienne.

After his headed effort in the victory over Les Verts, the Selecao Brasileira star’s campaign started to gather momentum. An excellent assist for Angel Di Maria’s goal in the 1-0 win away at Stade Rennais followed before another fine headed goal in the 5-0 thrashing of Toulouse.

Moura added a superb free-kick in the 5-0 mauling of Malmo FF in the UEFA Champions League before producing a goal and an assist in the 2-0 home win over Shakhtar Donetsk, another strike in the 5-1 rout of Olympique Lyonnais in Ligue 1 and two more assists in the 3-0 success away at SM Caen.

Lucas’ relief at starting to find the back of the net with a bit more regularity was particularly obvious when he spoke with PSG’s official website after the win over Shakhtar.

He said:

"

I'm very happy to have scored tonight. I always want to help the team win. That's my role. I'm a forward, that's what people expect of me. But what I want the most is to keep winning and bring the supporters to their feet. Obviously when I score, it's even better.

"

Now he has picked up some pace, Moura has six goals and has laid on four more in 23 appearances across all competitions, and allowing him to leave in January now he has come into some form would make little sense.

Blanc has a conundrum with the Brazilian in that his best appearances seem to come as a substitute, such as his goalscoring cameos against Saint-Etienne, Toulouse, Malmo and Lyon; he regularly disappears in games when he starts.

However, Lucas has shown his quality enough times over the first half of the season to convince his coach and club that he should not be let go of in January.

Back in June, PSG proudly announced on their official website that Moura had extended his contract until 2019.

With that in mind, the Ligue 1 leaders clearly have a vision for the future that includes the samba star, and that was illustrated by club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi's glowing praise for the youngster.

He said:

"

I think extending Lucas Moura's contract is a very significant moment.

He is a forward whose technique and speed have thrilled our supporters since he joined us from Sao Paulo.

Young players are very important for our project. Lucas has become a crowd favourite thanks to his talent and also his personality.

I am very proud that this, with such a huge potential, will be sporting the Club's colours in France and in Europe for a long time to come.

"

That aforementioned deal has not guaranteed the former Sao Paulo man a starting role in Blanc’s team, though. The player is still battling to hold down a regular starting berth amid the plethora of talent at Parc des Princes.

Lucas offers something few other PSG players can offer the 50-year-old French tactician. The South American boasts searing pace, a direct approach, plenty of flair and is also starting to make a useful habit out of his spring-heeled jumping ability to head the ball.

Le Parisien's decision to elect Moura as the biggest flop for the Paris-based juggernaut over the first half of the season was harsh because there have been a few disappointing members of the squad despite a very positive last few months for the group.

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However, it could also be argued Le Parisien’s verdict on Lucas also reflects the great expectations that were created when he joined PSG back in January 2013.

It is fair to say the Brazilian has not yet fully justified the lavish €45 million fee spent on him by the Ligue 1 giants. Nor has he completely lived up to his original billing. To be voted ahead of the likes of mercurial striker Edinson Cavani was perhaps not an entirely accurate reflection of the campaign so far, though. 

Moura still has time on his side, and although he has been up and down so far this term, there have been some positives for the player.

His recall to the Brazil national team, for example, was something he had been working toward since Luiz Felipe Scolari painfully snubbed him for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in his home country. His goal in 2016 will be to get himself into Dunga’s first squad of the year and keep his place in it for next summer’s Copa America.

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Although a tempting offer could be put forward by the likes of Manchester United in January, PSG should resist and persevere with Lucas for at least one more season. Les Parisiens did that with Javier Pastore, and although he is currently injured, the Argentina international eventually rediscovered his best form after a long adaptation period.

The same could ultimately happen with Moura. However, Lucas does need to start making the most of his starting opportunities.

If he can make the same sort of impact over 70, 80 or 90 minutes that he has in shorter spaces of time against the likes of Saint-Etienne, Toulouse, Malmo and Lyon, then the case to start him in the front three ahead of a struggling Cavani would be strengthened.

If Moura can start doing that, then Blanc should not hesitate in making him a more regular member of the starting XI. Lining up with the Brazilian, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Di Maria in the front three—theoretically at least—makes the attacking unit more balanced than a Cavani, Ibrahimovic and Di Maria trio.

With Lucas’ jet-heeled qualities alternating on the left and right side of the front three, PSG should be able to do far more damage to their domestic and continental opponents than they do with Blanc’s standard—and sometimes cumbersome—attack.

It is still a little too early for the French champions to conclude that Lucas has no place at the club and should therefore be sold. Consequently, PSG should stick with Moura and make a decision in the summer of 2017 instead.