Richarlison of Tottenham Hotspur has showed signs of improvement following a rough start to the season, and writer Paul Brown offered his thoughts on the Brazilian attacker with GIVEMESPORT.
The hefty price tag Spurs paid for Richarlison may have added unnecessary pressure on his head.
Tottenham Hotspur news – Richarlison
Richarlison signed for Spurs last summer for a fee of £60m from Everton, as per Sky Sports. The Brazil international, who is earning £175k-a-week at Hotspur Way, failed to make a significant impact in his first season at the club. Richarlison scored just once in the Premier League last campaign, despite playing 27 games for Spurs, as per FBref.
With Harry Kane departing during the summer transfer window, joining Bundesliga side Bayern Munich, Postecoglou gave Richarlison a chance to impress in a centre-forward role at the beginning of the term. However, Richarlison’s struggles continued, later admitting that he’d been suffering mentally…
“I went through a turbulent time in the last five months off the pitch. Now things are fine at home. People who only had an eye on my money are no longer close to me. Now things will start to flow. I’m sure I’ll get on a good run at Tottenham and make things happen again. That sad moment (in which he cried at being substituted for Brazil against Bolivia) wasn’t even because I played poorly, in my opinion. I didn’t put in a bad display in Belém. It was more of an outburst about the things that were happening off the pitch, which got out of control not as far as I’m concerned, but involving people who were close to me. I’m going to go back to England, seek psychological help from a psychologist to work on my mind.
On international duty, Richarlison was pictured in tears after being substituted against Bolivia, before revealing his off-the-pitch struggles after the game.
Over the last few weeks, Richarlison has shown plenty of improvement after getting things off his chest, scoring and providing an assist against Sheffield United before setting up the winner against Liverpool at the weekend. Journalist Dean Jones previously told GIVEMESPORT that he believes Postecoglou is the right man to get the best out of Richarlison in north London, and we’re starting to see the evidence of that in their last two fixtures.
Ange Postecoglou recognises that Richarlison isn’t just a striker – Paul Brown
Richarlison played the full 90 minutes against Liverpool at the weekend on the left-hand side of attack, with Son Heung-min through the middle. The Brazilian has had plenty of success when deployed in this role during his career, and his versatility makes him a useful option for any manager.
| Richarlison – Career Stats | Centre-Forward | Left-Winger | Right-Winger |
| Appearances | 117 | 104 | 46 |
| Goals | 31 | 34 | 10 |
| Assists | 10 | 20 | 4 |
| All statistics via Transfermarkt | |||
Brown has suggested that Postecoglou recognises Richarlison’s talents and he doesn’t just consider him a centre-forward. The journalist adds that the former Everton man almost looked back to his best against Liverpool and he’s starting to rediscover some of his confidence. Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, he said…
“Richarlison looked great, didn’t he? Yeah, I thought he was really really good. Almost back to his best. He played a little bit wider, which is a role he can play. I think a lot of Spurs fans kind of thought this season might just be him playing as a striker or not in the team. Not true. Postecoglou clearly recognises that he’s got more talent than that. He’s been really low lately, and it’s been quite sad to see. It looks like he might have rediscovered some of his confidence. He should have scored but came very close. I think it’s only a matter of time before the goals start flowing for him on a regular basis. I think he likes playing against Liverpool. He seems to raise his game against them. He’s had a few run-ins with them before. It seems to fire him up.”
Is Richarlison now a guaranteed starter at Hotspur Way?
Postecoglou still has options to change things in attack for Spurs, with Manor Solomon on the bench against Liverpool on Saturday. However, Richarlsion saw out the whole game, with Son and James Maddison substituted, showing that Postecoglou has faith in the Brazilian.
Richarlison now has a chance to stamp his authority on this Spurs side and give Postecoglou something to think about. Considering his contribution in front of goal over the last few games, it’s difficult to see the Australian manager taking him out of the team, and it’s his shirt to lose.