Tottenham Hotspur’s activity in the transfer market over the summer was largely successful, with numerous of their additions already making a huge impact in the Premier League.
Mohammed Kudus was the most expensive addition during the recent window, joining the Lilywhites in a £55m transfer from London rivals West Ham United.
The Ghanaian has already adhered himself to the supporters, with his tally of one goal and four assists the highest tally of any player in Thomas Frank’s first-team squad.
However, not all of their big-money additions have hit the ground running in North London, with Xavi Simons only able to register a single league assist after his £52m switch from RB Leipzig.
At just 22, he will have bags of time to adapt to life in England’s top-flight, but the same can’t be said for another first-team member who will likely be on borrowed time in the near future.
The total cost of Spurs’ deal to land Richarlison
Back in the summer of 2022, Spurs paid a reported £60m for the signature of striker Richarlison, with the Brazilian moving to North London from fellow Premier League side Everton.
Many supporters were excited upon his arrival, no doubt due to the size of the fee, but it’s safe to say the 28-year-old’s spell at the club has been nothing be plain sailing.
During his three years with the Lilywhites, he’s racked up a total of 108 appearances across all competitions, but has only scored a total of 24 goals in such a period.
However, he’s also taken home a small fortune in wages, with his £90k-per-week wages seeing him earn a total of £18.72m in wages alone since his transfer.
When combining his transfer fee with his wages, Richarlison has cost the hierarchy a total of £78.72m - a simply staggering amount of money given his lack of impact.
Given his tally of 24 goals, he’s cost around £3.28m per effort - further highlighting how much money the board have wasted on his signature over the last few seasons.
The player who could end Richarlison’s Spurs career
The numbers behind Richarlison’s deal at Spurs are nothing short of mind-boggling, but his underlying stats from the current campaign further indicate his lack of positive impact.
The Brazilian has only scored four times in the Premier League to date, but he has missed six big chances in the process, which has no doubt hindered his ability to provide the goods.
He’s also registered the least amount of touches of any player on the pitch in four of his 11 league appearances, often being unable to make a real impact on proceedings.
When in possession, the 28-year-old has struggled to find a teammate, only completing 63% of his passes - a tally which ranks him in the bottom 12% of all players in the division.
His lack of quality, coupled with his staggering cost, should see the club look to move him on in the near future, with Frank desperately needing to drop him from his starting eleven.
However, that may be a tricky task given the recent injuries to Dominic Solanke and Randal Kolo Muani, but the Dane does have an excellent option in the form of Mathys Tel.
The Frenchman originally joined on a season-long loan from Bayern Munich last campaign, but he made such a move permanent in the summer - costing a fee in the region of £27m.
However, he’s found minutes hard to come by under Frank, with the 20-year-old only starting three matches out of a possible 11 in England’s top-flight to date.
Tel, who’s been labelled “one of the best finishers in Europe” by Ben Mattinson, has managed to impress despite his limited minutes, as seen by his tally of two goals.
Such a tally is all the more impressive when delving into his minute per goal ratio, with his 124-minute goalscoring record the best in the current squad in North London.
The youngster has also caught the eye with his dribble success, often taking the ball past the opposition and handing the side a more nimble and off-the-shoulder type of centre-forward.
Despite his small frame, Tel has managed to make a nuisance of numerous backlines, even impressing out of possession and winning the ball back 1.1 times per 90 in the final third - which places him in the 95th percentile.
There’s no disputing that Tel is still a young and raw talent, but he’s already demonstrated glimpses of his quality, which should see Frank hand the Frenchman a consistent run of starts.
As for Richarlison, he could find himself on the fringes in the coming months, with the hierarchy needing to cash in as soon as possible to avoid losing a small fortune on their investment.