Shay Given has claimed that Antonio Conte will have a difficult selection decision to make regarding Richarlison after the World Cup, remarking the forward will not be happy sitting on the bench if he has a memorable tournament in Qatar.
Richarlison has made a solid start to his time at Spurs since his big-money move in the summer, having scored twice and provided three assists across all competitions so far (Transfermarkt).
The 25-year-old has been used on either flank but has not had too many opportunities to play through the middle, with Harry Kane ahead of him in the pecking order.
However, Richarlison has demonstrated for Brazil at the World Cup that he has the attributes to play centrally, netting a brace in the Selecao’s opening game of the tournament against Serbia.
Tite’s men are one of the favourites to go all the way in Qatar, and Given believes that should the former Everton man to help his country to World Cup glory, he might not be too happy to be played out of position at Spurs.
The former Manchester City goalkeeper said on the All to Play For Podcast: “What would you do? Say he (Richarlison) has a brilliant World Cup and wins the Golden Boot and comes back to Tottenham, wins the World Cup.
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“Would you come back to Tottenham and be on the bench? He’s on top of the world and then Antonio Conte says come back and sit on the bench next week.
“It’s going to be a week. They haven’t played much together (Kane and Richarlison). The Brazilian media love him. Does he go back to Tottenham and play? Does he not play? Is he happy to sit on the bench?
“Is he happy to play out of position? I wouldn’t be happy if I was the World Cup’s top goalscorer I’d say I need to move or I need to be playing.”
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It is worth remembering that Richarlison got plenty of game time for Tottenham even when Kulusesvski was fit at the start of the season. So, that is not going to change, especially given the busy nature of the schedule this season.
I believe that the Brazilian will also get opportunities to lead the line as Kane will have to be rested for a few games, given the workload that the striker has had for club and country so far this season.
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