By Tottenham are the Premier League’s lowest scorers and sit second bottom – so why is Richarlison, the club’s £60m striker, playing for the under-21s instead of leading the line?
Richarlison (Credits: BBC Sport)
Less than four years after representing Brazil at the 2022 World Cup, the 29-year-old scored in front of a couple of hundred supporters for Spurs’ reserves against Cheltenham Town in the EFL Trophy – a stark illustration of his fall from grace.
From Brazil Star to U21 Football
Richarlison looked almost embarrassed to celebrate his thumping half-volley against the League Two outfit, adding a penalty in a shootout that Spurs’ under-21s lost 7-6 after a 2-2 draw.
It was only his second appearance of the season and his first since the end of August against Brentford, having been left out of Tottenham’s 25-man Premier League squad.
Manager Roberto De Zerbi insisted the decision to omit him in September was not his, coming after the forward’s failed move back to Merseyside on transfer deadline day.
A Goal Crisis Nobody Saw Coming
With just three goals, Spurs are the top-flight’s lowest scorers this season and second bottom in the table. That makes the decision to exclude last season’s 12-goal leading scorer from their league plans increasingly difficult to justify.
For a couple of hours on deadline day, a return to Everton seemed only a matter of time. But the move to the Hill Dickinson Stadium collapsed, and a later proposed switch to Brazilian side Vasco da Gama also fell through after Richarlison failed to agree personal terms.
De Zerbi has said the player’s desire to leave was clear from pre-season: “He spoke with me at the beginning of the pre-season and told me his idea and desire was to leave.” The manager added that he wanted only players committed to staying, and that the squad decision was “the responsibility of the club”.
Spurs May Already Regret It
Since arriving from Everton, Richarlison has scored 27 top-flight goals in 103 appearances, and he was Tottenham’s leading scorer in the competition last season with 11 in 32 games as they narrowly avoided relegation.
Dominic Solanke’s late equaliser against Manchester United on Saturday was the first Premier League goal from a Tottenham forward since Richarlison netted against Chelsea back in May – and former England striker Alan Shearer has questioned whether Solanke is “nowhere near good enough” after just 13 league goals since his £55m move from Bournemouth.
Despite a £300m summer spend, Tottenham’s problems in the final third are impossible to ignore. With the EFL Trophy group stage offering him rare competitive minutes, Richarlison may now have to wait until January for his situation to change.
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Source: BBC Sport — read the full story there.
