Richarlison has made an excellent start to the new season at Tottenham.
The Brazilian has been one of the standout players for the Lilywhites in their promising opening to the new Premier League campaign, and he has looked revitalised in recent weeks.
Richarlison has received plenty of criticism at Tottenham in recent years, but he has put that behind him of late and is becoming a truly effective force at the top of the pitch.
Thomas Frank will be delighted with the start that he has made, but even Spurs fans will be surprised to see that their star sits at the top of the tree on this metric.
Richarlison is the most clinical finisher in the Premier League
Richarlison netted for Tottenham again on Saturday, as he reacted well to force the ball home from close range and halve the hosts’ lead on the stroke of half-time.
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The Brazilian has continued his eye-catching start to the new league campaign, and with three goals to his name already, he is just one strike away from matching his final Premier League tally from the entirety of 2024/25.
It has been a remarkable turnaround from a player who was heavily linked with a move away from the Lilywhites throughout the summer, and Spurs fans will surely be amazed to see him looking so sharp in the final third.
The 28-year-old has found a new lease of life under Frank, and he is currently the Premier League’s most clinical player, according to Football Insider, using stats from Opta.
Richarlison’s three goals this term have come from a total xG of just 1.64, meaning he is overperforming his xG by a greater margin than any other player who has surpassed a combined xG of 1.3.
A player’s total xG can provide a good barometer as to how many goals they should have scored, and in this instance, the Spurs man is performing significantly better than he perhaps should be, which is a testament to his instincts in front of goal.
There are other stars who have scored more goals and had better opportunities, but nobody is performing better than Richarlison in a pound-for-pound sense.
Richarlison should be above Dominic Solanke at Tottenham
It had looked inevitable that Richarlison would leave Tottenham for large parts of the summer, but he could now be playing his way towards a new deal.
He has made the most of Dominic Solanke’s injury lay-off, and has surely now cemented his place above the England international in the pecking order in North London.
The former Bournemouth star is yet to kick a competitive ball for Spurs this season, but his finishing stats last time out were in total contrast to Richarlison’s on current form.
Solanke underperformed his xG, and with him likely to ease his way back into action over the coming weeks, Richarlison’s position as first choice could yet grow even stronger if he continues to impress.
This is a situation that almost no Spurs fan would have foreseen in the summer, but that is a credit to the player and his determination to continue to improve.