Glenn Hoddle says Richarlison isn’t good enough to lead the line for Tottenham Hotspur following the departure of Harry Kane.
The Tottenham legend also thinks, if manager Ange Postecoglou was at another club, then there is ‘no way’ he buys Richarlison, as he told Premier League Productions (13/08/23 at 1:05 pm).
After a club-record transfer to Spurs last summer from Everton, Richarlison only managed one Premier League goal under Antonio Conte.
The 26-year-old struggled in front of goal and ended up being part of a Spurs side that finished outside of Europe altogether.
That put a lot of pressure on the players heading into this season and that has been increased now that Kane has joined Bayern Munich.
But Hoddle can’t see Richarlison being able to fill in this season and score the goals that Postecoglou needs.
“I really don’t understand how Richarlison is going to play up there,” said Hoddle. “He isn’t going to be able to score the goals Harry scored or play the same way.
“Richarlison won’t get anywhere near the goals that Harry Kane scored, so it has to be a team scenario.
“If you are buying Richarlison, say if Postecoglou is at a different club now, would he go ‘I would go and get him’. He scored one goal in 20-odd games. No way!
“He now has to come into the Tottenham team and have that pressure of Harry over his shoulders. He’s not going to be able to do it.”
First few weeks crucial for Richarlison
The Brazil international played down the middle for Spurs during their 2-2 draw against Brentford on Sunday, but he failed to get on the scoresheet.
The important thing is that he wasn’t anonymous, he had chances, but he just lacked that killer finish.
These next few weeks are crucial for the player because if he fails to score, then the noise around him will increase and it might just end up affecting his game.
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