Former Tottenham midfielder and coach Gus Poyet has admitted that he still has doubts over whether Richarlison is good for Ange Postecoglou’s system.
Richarlison has had a torrid time since his big-money switch from Everton 18 months ago, with a combination of injuries and bad form seeing him struggle to get any sort of continuity.
The 26-year-old will be hoping he has now finally turned a corner, having scored a brace against Newcastle United in what was his first game back since having pelvic surgery last month.
The Brazilian revealed following the 4-1 win over the Magpies that his groin problem was so painful that he did not kick the ball during warm-ups, and he admitted that he is now feeling a lot more confident in his body after fixing the issue (Daily Mail).
Will Spurs look to replace Richarlison long-term?
Despite Richarlison being back among the goals, Poyet is not completely convinced that Postecoglou sees the former Everton man as a long-term option.
The Uruguayan told NewBettingOffers (as relayed by The Mirror): “When Spurs signed Richarlison I thought it was a great opportunity for him, because they were always missing a player that was able to play if Harry Kane couldn’t for whatever reason.
“It seemed perfect, and he did okay when Kane was still there. Everyone thought that when Kane left he could be the starting number nine, but it has not happened for him for some reason.
“Now it is at the point where they’ve decided to play Heung-min Son up front and they have found a better way to win football matches. Now Richarlison has a problem.
“As a player, you can complain that you don’t play under one coach, then the next coach, but you can’t blame everyone. Sometimes you need to take a look at yourself.
“He’s a good player but needs to play in a certain way and I don’t know if he has the right characteristics to play as the number nine in Postecoglou’s system.
“If I was the coach, I would be constantly communicating with him. I would talk to him a lot about what I need in that position and what he needs to do more or less to have a better chance of making the starting XI.”
Poyet implored the Tottenham faithful to show faith in Postecoglou’s methods, insisting that the team’s poor run of recent form was due to a lack of squad depth.
The pundit added: “Spurs fans one hundred per cent need to trust the process. They have had a tendency to complain about how defensively the team was set up under Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, but now they find themselves with a manager who does the opposite.
“They play so high up the pitch and the fans love it. To maintain the level of performance and win playing in the way they do for the long term, [Spurs] need their best players fit. When the best players aren’t fit then the quality of the squad comes into the equation, and you need proper depth.
“As coaches, we always think that everything is okay when it is going well, but then you miss your best player for a period of time and realise that maybe you are not okay. It also depends on who you have fixtures against in that period when you’re missing key players.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Postecoglou has been insistent right from the summer that Richarlison has all the attributes that he looks for in his number nines. So, the Aussie coach will give the Brazilian plenty of opportunities to come good over the next few months before making a decision on his future next summer.