Spurs should consider moving Richarlison on in favour of Dominic Solanke
As things stand, Spurs remain inclined to let Richarlison go this summer for the right price. The Brazilian has been prominently linked with a move to Saudi Arabia.
The Lilywhites also want to get a goal-getter in, with Dominic Solanke the flavour of the week and Ivan Toney still part of discussions. The Cherries want £65 million for their £70k-a-week striker, who still has three years left on his contract.
This is but a part of Tottenham’s goal-scoring quandary. Up front, Ange Postecoglou has at his disposal multiple players adept at playing both centrally and out wide, but he hasn’t had a proper goal machine ever since Harry Kane left for Bayern Munich last summer.
Spurs would do their chances of making the Champions League for next season a lot of favour if they manage to move Richarlison on and bring in his place the one-cap England international.
Leveraging upward mobility
Richarlison arrived at Watford as a young prospect with a lot of potential. From there he quickly moved on to Everton, again as a highly-rated youngster. Four years down the line, he moved to Spurs as, once again, someone with a high ceiling.
At every step of the way, the club buying the Brazilian forward paid above market value for his potential, which until this point has never really been realised. The most number of goals Richarlison scored in a league season for Watford is five, 13 for Everton, and 11 for Spurs. These are, at best, above-average numbers for a forward, but they hardly feel justifiable of the €110m+ in transfer fees that Richarlison has accrued throughout his career in four moves.
Solanke, on the other hand, was a highly-rated academy product at Chelsea. From there, he moved to Liverpool, where things did not work out. He then had to take a step down and only as he was reaching his prime years is when his numbers have started going up, the Englishman having delivered for the Cherries 19 goals in the league last term.
The optics around Richarlison’s career indicate a player whose career has remained plateaued for all his potential. In Solanke, meanwhile, we have a player whose career has seen ups and downs and ups again as he readies himself to return towards the top of English football.
Last season, Spurs did not manage to fill the Kane-shaped void, both in terms of goals and personality. The least they can do here is prioritise the goals part and hope that the personality aspect sorts itself out consequently.
Solanke, as things stand, is much better equipped to deliver Spurs the number of goals they need to return to the top-four conversation compared to Richarlison. He’s an in-form goal-getter, and boy do Spurs need one of those.
Conclusion
Last season, Richarlison spoke quite bravely and openly about his mental health struggles. Rightfully, he was supported by both Spurs and Postecoglou and regardless of what the future has in store for him, one hopes he continues getting the support he needs and deserves.
When it comes to the brutal reality of the cutthroat business of the Premier League, however, the bottom line remains this: Richarlison is, in his current guise, not capable of helping Spurs reach the level they are aiming for. Moving on would be good for him, and getting Solanke would be good for Spurs.
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If nothing else, the perception around Spurs’ situation up the pitch that would come about as a result of Richarlison’s departure and Solanke’s arrival would also spring their other players into action, which might just help them gain that extra edge they need to improve upon the previous season.
