Tottenham player told ‘he’d be playing in League Two if he wasn’t Brazilian’
Aston Villa legend Gabby Agbonlahor insists Tottenham striker Richarlison would be “playing in League Two if he wasn’t Brazilian”.
Richarlison joined Spurs during the summer transfer window of 2022, potentially earning a fee of up to £60 million, after scoring 53 goals in 152 games for Everton.
The Brazil international’s tenure with Tottenham did not, however, start off well; in his first 54 games in all competitions, he managed just 10 goals.
Richarlison had a far better Premier League record under Ange Postecoglou this year than he did the previous one, with six goals and three assists in the first half of the campaign.
Richarlison is now showing signs that he could be the striker Tottenham hoped he’d become but Agbonlahor was far from impressed by what he saw in Spurs’ 1-0 win over Burnley.
“I was watching the game and thinking ‘I’m wasting my evening, I could be watching a new series on Netflix’ 60 minutes in, I turned it off, it was dreadful,” Agbonlahor said on talkSPORT.
“Richarlison, he can’t control the ball, he’s not strong enough to hold the ball up, he’s not good with link-up play, he can’t run in behind because he’s not quick enough, he can’t finish.
“Honestly, he’d be playing in League Two if he wasn’t Brazilian, I don’t rate him one bit.”
Agbonlahor wasn’t the only pundit to criticise Richarlison in the aftermath of their win against Burnley with
Former Liverpool defender Steve Nicol is adamant that Tottenham needs a new striker. Tottenham is close to acquiring Timo Werner from RB Leipzig.
On ESPN, Nicol stated, “They’re missing a goal scorer.” Who will put the ball in the back of the net, after all, was the question that lingered after Son left? Who will notice what he isn’t going to be able to provide? The fact is that Richarlison isn’t a goal scorer, therefore we don’t have an answer for that.
This evening’s game demonstrated that more than any other. The two (chances) we gave him on his left side in the first half were both quite feeble tries. He then fails to deliver a header.
“So, you know, I guess if you are Postecoglou, you are delighted you’re through tonight, but at the same time, they should have made this easier, and they would have done if they had somebody up front who actually is a goalscorer.”
“His record with Tottenham is one in four. Now, you ain’t winning anything if your centre-forward is one in four, particularly when your two wide guys are really not there to score goals. This isn’t Salah and Mane of a couple of
a long time ago. Who will score given that Johnson and Kulusevski are involved?
Richarlison has improved this season over last under former Spurs manager Antonio Conte, according to a recent discussion by former Celtic manager Postecoglou.
Postecoglou stated, “He’s able to perform at the level he wants to, he feels good physically, and he’s free of injuries.”
“At the beginning, he was unable to do that and felt somewhat limited in his movements. There is no miracle therapy, but he received the necessary care and is now feeling well.
“He’s scoring goals which makes him feel more confident and he’s working really hard for the team which has been really important for us.”
