Former Tottenham man Gus Poyet believes that Richarlison's progress under Antonio Conte prior to the World Cup "was nearly perfection". Signed from Everton in a £60million deal in the summer, the Brazilian has endured a frustrating start to life in N17 with injury restricting his playing time.
Goals have also been hard to come by for the 25-year-old, with the club's No.9 last scoring for the Lilywhites in their Champions League win over Marseille at the beginning of September. Having to make do with minutes here and there after recovering from the hamstring injury that he picked up at the World Cup before he was finally handed a start against West Ham last Sunday, Poyet is hoping that Richarlison can get back to his previous form as the team are going to need him at such a crucial time in the calendar.
“I think the progress he made under Conte, right up until the World Cup, was nearly perfection," explained Poyet when speaking to BettingSites.co.uk. “The way that Conte took him to be as a possible replacement for Harry Kane when he was not fit, or getting in every now and then in the wide positions, it was perfect.
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“He was getting used to that role, the problem was after the World Cup. He’s not playing in the same way or in the same position for Spurs as he was before. Maybe, he thought when he came back he would have more minutes, but I think something has changed. But let’s hope he can get back because Spurs need him.”
Working hard and putting himself about to trouble the West Ham backline last weekend, opportunities on goal were few and far between for the player. Replaced by Son Heung-min on 68 minutes, the South Korean doubled Spurs' lead four minutes later to put the seal on a much-needed victory for the Lilywhites.
Conte and Cristian Stellini now face a big call to make over the duo when it comes to the Tottenham XI against Chelsea, with Poyet believing that Son will come back into the team for the London derby.
“I think he will play, I think it has been a tough season for Son because he was up and down. He couldn’t score, he then scored a hat-trick and he was up and down at the World Cup," said the Uruguayan. “Remember he was the main man for South Korea there as well, and he’s played pretty similar to Spurs; one minute they look like they could win every game and then not the next.
“I think the difference between the two teams right now is that if everyone is available, we could pick the starting XI of Tottenham. But I don’t think we could make the starting XI of Chelsea and that shows the difference of where they are as a team.
"That gives you a little more consistency and that is the only reason why Tottenham is above Chelsea right now. More or less, the same players are playing and you get used to playing with some players, it is not the same.
“When you get used to playing with someone, it is easier. Also, sometimes one player works better for your qualities. This is something that becomes easier when you start playing the same team, most of the time.
“When you change constantly, how can you get used to this? We are not machines and that is why Chelsea are finding it difficult to get that consistency.”
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