Tottenham cannot dare to expect life without Harry Kane to be straightforward but with Richarlison waiting in reserve, they are better placed than some might think. The Brazilian is a superior striker to anyone likely to be available to Spurs in the market.
That will be difficult for supporters to accept given the struggles that Richarlison endured in his debut season for the club following his £60m move from Everton. One goal from 27 Premier League appearances represented a miserable return.
But there are reasons beyond Richarlison’s second-half hat-trick against Lion City Sailors to believe that this is a player who can step up. Issues of form and fitness have plagued him but Ange Postecoglou is also a very different character to Antonio Conte.
Richarlison celebrates after scoring for Spurs in their friendly against Lion City Sailors
For Richarlison, it was no carrot and all stick from the Italian.
Others before him – Vincent Janssen, Fernando Llorente and Carlos Vinicius – have struggled for rhythm at Spurs when deputising for Kane. The role requires long spells on the bench and when the opportunities do come, it can be among much-changed line-ups.
Kane started every one of the first 29 games of last season so there were few chances for anyone else to lead the line. By the time he was finally rested in the FA Cup in January, Richarlison was injured and the relationship with Conte had already soured.
The extent of Conte’s annoyance when the player expressed his frustrations in February was revealed by Richarlison this summer. “He told me off to show he was in command,” he told a Brazilian podcast. “Almost two hours scolding me in front of everybody.”
That may have been designed to reassert Conte’s authority but it was never likely to bring out the best in a complex character. Richarlison divides opinion on the pitch – “I cannot stand watching him,” Jamie Carragher once said – but he is to be admired off it.
Growing up in rural Brazil, he was an ice-cream salesman, car washer, café worker and bricklayer’s assistant, learning early the importance of hard work and he has never forgotten it. He has since become an outspoken advocate for education and various charities.
That should resonate rather than more than a few rolls on the turf after being on the receiving end of a foul. Postecoglou appears to have recognised it quickly. “He has got, and I think people dismiss it a bit, a really strong work ethic,” said the Spurs coach.
Expect an arm around the shoulder in the knowledge that not only will he need Richarlison at his best but that this is a player who could be ideally suited to the style of football that Postecoglou wants his Tottenham team to play. A striker with hustle is a must.
That was an essential component of his success at Celtic, Kyogo Furuhashi epitomising it. “It is not just about his goals, it is his work rate and attitude,” said Postecoglou. “Kyogo is a quality finisher, an intelligent footballer and a handful for other teams.”
He is already describing Richarlison in similar terms.
“He works hard for the team and a lot of what he does, does not get seen. His pressing, his runs. Sometimes he does not get the ball but he is always making those runs and he is a constant nuisance for defenders. I have said before that I really like Richy.
“He is someone who has got all of the attributes that I look for in a striker, in that he has got the strong work ethic, he is always in the right areas and he is presenting himself and making a presence of himself in the right areas for the way we play.
“I have got a lot of time for him and he is one of the ones I am looking forward to working with. From the outside, you see a player and you try to picture how they fit into the kind of football you want to play and I certainly think that he can.”
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Was this Harry Kane saying goodbye to the Spurs fans during pre-season?
Postecoglou is no fool. He will want to keep Kane in the knowledge that nobody else can do the things that he can do. His job becomes harder without him. But if the Australian were constructing his Spurs side from scratch, it would be with a different type of striker.
His system favours a forward who focuses on pressing high and maintaining that presence in the penalty box. Postecoglou has already noted that Richarlison can play a number of roles across the frontline but he showed at the World Cup that he has that skillset.
Richarlison’s shot map for Brazil at the 2022 World Cup shows his threat in the box
Even at a time when he was struggling for minutes at Spurs, Richarlison was able to perform that role for Brazil in Qatar. Twenty goals for his country – half of them coming in 2022 – is testament to his pedigree. He can play within the width of the posts.
Kane’s capacity to drop deep is part of what makes him great – he has been Tottenham’s de facto playmaker for years now. As well as scoring 30 Premier League goals last season, no striker was better at threading through team-mates with those angled passes.
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But the acquisition of James Maddison from Leicester City may change the division of labour in Postecoglou’s team. Maddison is a natural in the playmaker role, it is surely the reason that he has been bought, and he will be the one who wants to occupy that zone.
An opportunity for Richarlison to shine? That is not yet clear. But the player himself appears optimistic. “Last season, I had too many injuries and now I feel good. My body is good. I think it will be a good season for me.” With Postecoglou’s Tottenham, he may be right.