By Sam McGuire
Eyebrows were initially raised when Everton paid £35million to sign him from Watford in 2018. If add-ons were hit, the fee could’ve potentially risen to £50million. At the time, this was a player with just five Premier League goals to his name.
Richarlison then netted 13 goals in back-to-back league campaigns for the Toffees and it appeared as though he would kick on. However, he then managed just 17 goals across the next two seasons. He was settling into the role of a good Premier League attacker, not a great one.
To the surprise of everyone, Spurs then made their move for him. Signing him for a fee believed to be in the region of £60million in the summer of 2022.
His debut campaign with Tottenham Hotspur ended with just one league goal. The following season, with Spurs selling Harry Kane, Richarlison was given more opportunities and he did finish with 11 league goals to his name, his highest return since the 2019/20 campaign. He couldn’t build on that though and ended last season with just four strikes to his name in the English top-flight.
The dismissal of Ange Postecoglou coupled with the hiring of Thomas Frank could’ve been bad news for Richarlison’s Tottenham career. A new manager, with fresh ideas, might’ve looked to cash in on the striker. There was interest in him from former club Everton too.
One week into the new season though and thoughts of a Richarlison sale seem ridiculous and far-fetched. The 28-year-old currently has the highest FotMob rating in the Premier League (9.12)!
The Spurs No. 9 was named in the starting XI for the season opener against Burnley just days after leading the line against Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Super Cup. Richarlison was replaced after 71 minutes having netted two goals, one of which was a goal of the season contender.
“For the second goal we had 17 passes and every player in the team touched the ball and then an exceptional finish. I’m a bit disappointed as so early on we’ve had the goal of the season,” joked the Spurs boss.
The one-time Fluminense forward had the most shots of any player in the match against the Premier League new boys (five). He had the highest Expected Goals total (0.78) and the highest Expected Goals on Target total (1.83). The 50-cap Brazil international added real quality to his efforts with his shot placement, as highlighted in the latter two metrics.
Richarlison also ranked first for dribble success rate in the game (100%) and triumphed in five of the eight duels he was involved in.
On current form, he’s an undisputed starter for Frank. It will be hard, perhaps even impossible, for £65million 2024 summer signing Dominic Solanke to get back into the starting XI.
Heading into this campaign, the Brazilian was at the crossroads in his career. If he failed to make an impression under the new boss, he likely would’ve been moved on at the end of the season. However, if he could impress, the centre-forward position was there for the taking. Frank might’ve been the best appointment for Richarlison too.
The Danish manager has an incredible record with the likes of Ivan Toney, Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa. He could be the man to finally get Richarlison to 15 Premier League goals in a single campaign.
The No. 9 started only four Premier League matches last season due to injury problems. He’s already a quarter of the way to that haul and, by the sounds of it, he’s not going to be vacating the starting XI anytime soon.
“He was very good against PSG and today he was exceptional, with his work-rate, driving the team, link-up play, hold-up play, just dominating and then the two finishes,” Frank said.
“So happy on his behalf and again performance department, medical department did a top job to build him. I think a few of you know he was not involved in the first friendly because we had to build him. That will be continuous and something we need to look at throughout the season. It is only the second game of the season, there is a long way to go but very positive with him.”
“Yeah, I think I always liked Richarlison. I always thought he was good when he played for Everton and when he came to Tottenham we know he struggled with some injuries.
“He was unlucky also so we are very aware that we need to build him and protect him because we can’t say we just played two games back-to-back, he did well both and we are out of the woods. That we need to prove over a little bit longer time but the first signs are good.”
If Spurs can keep Richarlison injury free, they have someone who could surprise people. He has missed a total of 58 matches since joining the North London outfit in 2022 but there’s always been a belief that he’s just one lucky season away from scaling his performances to new heights.
Ex-England striker Dion Dublin, speaking on Final Score, was another to praise Richarlison.
“Richarlison has everything he needs to score the goals but he just needs a bit of managing on and off the field. I believe he is one of these players where you have to massage his ego and say ‘You’re great, go and play, you’re playing every week’. Do that and I think you’ll get the rewards.”
If Frank can have similar success with Richarlison as he had with Toney, Wissa and Mbeumo, Spurs might’ve finally replaced Harry Kane.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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