Speaking on the All to Play For Podcast, Shay Given has been discussing Richarlison and his role at Spurs.
Richarlison has been one of the stars of the World Cup so far. He scored twice against Serbia on matchday one including a bona fide Goal of the Tournament contender as he netted a wonderful overhead kick.
The 25-year-old is in the running for the Golden Boot, but despite his international brilliance, he isn’t guaranteed a starting spot at Spurs upon his return to domestic action.
Indeed, Richarlison is very much behind Harry Kane in the Tottenham pecking order, and Given has pondered whether or not Richarlison will be happy with his role when he returns from the World Cup if he’s a champion and a Golden Boot winner.
Richarlison may not be happy
Given pondered Richarlison’s feelings.
“What would you do? Say he has a brilliant World Cup and wins the Golden Boot and comes back to Tottenham, wins the World Cup. Would you come back to Tottenham and be on the bench? He’s on top of the world and then Antonio Conte says come back and sit on the bench next week,” Conte said.
“It’s going to be a week. They haven’t played much together (Kane and Richarlison). The Brazilian media love him. Does he go back to Tottenham and play? Does he not play? Is he happy to sit on the bench? Is he happy to play out of position? I wouldn’t be happy if I was the World Cup top goalscoerer I’d say I need to move or I need to be playing.”
Won’t start
Richarlison could be one of the stars of the World Cup, but no matter what he does, he won’t be the first name on the Spurs teamsheet upon his return.
Heung-Min Son and Harry Kane, quite simply, have too much credit in the bank to be dropped, and while Richarlison could play wide, that’s not his preferred role.
As Given says, Richarlison may not be happy in his role upon his return, and that may leave him with a decision to make.
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