Tottenham news: Opinion - fan writer on Richarlison

Submitted by daniel on
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It might seem odd to say that our top scorer this season is also our weakest link, but such is the confidence at Spurs right now that even our worst performer is still delivering - sort of.

Richarlison stumbled through our Champions League game against Villarreal last week and, apart from his equaliser against Brighton on Saturday, our number nine was largely ineffective for most of that match as well.

Despite the occasional spectacular overhead finish, Richarlison has been a thorn in the side of my Spurs fandom for quite some time now. A useful player when he is injury-free and full of confidence, yet all too often the Brazil international fails to truly impress on a consistent basis.

In previous seasons, this would have a been a significant concern. However, with Dominic Solanke hopefully returning from injury soon and Randal Kolo Muani only left out at the weekend due to a dead leg, there are much better options on the horizon for Thomas Frank.

While the fan in me wishes we had sold Richarlison a long time ago, the coach in me has to concede that it makes sense to deploy him as an understudy to avoid burnout for our main stars.

Refreshingly for Spurs, centre-forward is not the only position where we have strength in depth this season.

While Djed Spence has carried out a first England cap-worthy stint at left-back, it was great to see Destiny Udogie looking almost back to his best on Saturday.

I wouldn't say we have an embarrassment of riches in midfield just yet, but we certainly have an abundance of options for Frank to experiment with.

Our manager needs to get the balance right between consistency and rotation - if he can, he might just get the best out of everyone this season.

What do you reckon? Is Richarlison under-appreciated or is he only a squad player at best?

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