Opinion: Make The Case – Should Spurs keep or sell Richarlison?

The strange case of the starting striker for the Brazilian team. Any fanbase would be happy to have such a talented individual start for their team. The issue is, that person is Richarlison. And he happens to be our team’s best option at striker.

Signing from Everton for the fee of £50m (Transfermarkt), he had a muted first season due to playing behind arguably the greatest striker in the history of Tottenham Hotspur – Harry Kane. That can shake the confidence of any individual.

Richy stated as much, watching him during training and the high level of skill he showed week in and week out was intimidating. Nonetheless, Richy managed to produce 3 goals and 4 assists in the previous season while playing backup and occasionally playing out on the left wing.

His best performances occur when he is playing down the middle. When Kane left at the beginning of the season, the number 9 role opened up and was Richy’s for the taking, as long as he was healthy. Unfortunately, he struggled with physical and mental issues that caused him to miss some time this year.

The mental issues were so disheartening, that Richy opened up about the possibility of him taking his own life (Football.London). But even after missing valuable game time, he was still able to produce 12 goals and 4 assists. The biggest complaint from us fans came from the chances he didn’t convert to goals.

During the year, Richarlison missed 7 goal-scoring opportunities. With each opportunity missed, you could see the disappointment on his face. Throughout the season, it would be an uphill battle to get the ball rolling for the highly talented player that we have all been accustomed to. Those missed opportunities would have swayed the game in a different direction and we would possibly be in the Champions League.

For Richy to succeed, he needs a lot of game time and his confidence needs to be firing on all cylinders. to be. He started 3 straight games and wasn’t able to produce a goal contribution, resulting in him being moved to the bench during match week 4. But it was during game 5 when he was called from the bench and was able to score and produce an assist.

He later assisted in match week 7 against Liverpool and match week 9 against Crystal Palace. Then he suffered a groin injury in November that sidelined him until early December. Once he returned, Richy came back with a vengeance, producing 9 goals in a span of 8 games. But like clockwork, another injury derailed his resurgence.

He would battle knee and hamstring injuries for the rest of the season, only playing in 6 of the last 15 games on the schedule. If we are going to improve on the year, we need a reliable individual to start at the 9 and to be clinical when called upon.

Should Tottenham keep Richarlison?

I believe Richy is capable of being an elite striker in the Premier League, despite a down year by his standards. Not only did he have a loss of form, but so did the entire team offensively. But when Richy was on the pitch, he looked like the best number 9 option by a wide margin. No disrespect to Heung Min Son, but in the games he started down the middle, he tended to disappear and not be as effective on the left wing.

But we have to look at the facts. While I love Richy, we need to sign at quality number 9. I think a healthy competition would not only boost Richarlison’s ego to want to keep his spot, but I believe in the case he does go down for an extended period, the backup would not be far off of quality and not force Sonny to play down the middle.

Verdict: Keep Richarlison, but sign another striker for competition and depth.