Five goals in as many festive fixtures for Richarlison suggests Tottenham’s endearing but often-frustrating striker is coming to the boil at just the right time, with Heung-min Son now away for up to six weeks at the Asian Cup.
In the New Year’s Eve win over Bournemouth, Richarlison’s first-time finish was a carbon copy of his goal against Everton, and he scored a deft header at Nottingham Forest as well as his first Spurs goals with his feet in the thrashing of Newcastle.
Going into Friday night’s FA Cup third-round tie against Burnley, the Brazilian has six goals and three assists in 12 Premier League starts this season — not bad going for a player who was struggling with his movement from the start of the campaign and had surgery on a niggling pelvic issue in November.
And yet, as Richarlison prepares to be Spurs’s undisputed leading man in attack for the first time since a £60million move from Everton, doubts about his class and long-term suitability for Ange Postecoglou’s project still linger.
The only game Richarlison did not score in over the festive period was Spurs’s 4-2 defeat at Brighton on December 28 and, although the visitors got what they deserved, his wastefulness felt costly.
After striking the post at the end of the first half, he missed a succession of chances after the break, firing one wide, forcing a save from Jason Steele and twice scoring from offside positions by failing to hold the line (or, being generous, receiving the pass too late).
If he had taken any one of these openings before Pervis Estupinan’s screamer killed the game, Spurs may have gone on to get a result or at least win the second half, which finished 2-2 after a late onslaught from Postecoglou’s side.
He also missed a big opportunity against Bournemouth, screwing a shot wide with Spurs 1-0 up but under pressure. On another day, it might have been costly.
This is nit-picking, perhaps, but these are where most of the doubts over Richarlison lie: in his ability to be an elite finisher.
His best return in a Premier League season is the 13 goals he managed for Everton in both 2018-19 and the following season, a good enough haul given he was often playing out wide or off Dominic Calvert-Lewin for a mid-table Toffees side.
Postecoglou’s teams will always create chances — and here it is obligatory to imagine how many goals Harry Kane would have scored in Richarlison’s shoes, while also pointing out that the comparison is unfair on the Brazil No9 — but they are all but certain to concede chances, too, and they arguably need a finisher who is more clinical when it matters.
Really, at Brighton, and in their tricky spell against Bournemouth, Spurs needed two Sons — one to lead counter-attacks and another to finish them off.
Now, though, they have no Son for the foreseeable future, increasing the onus on Richarlison to be even more clinical.
Son, generously, has backed his team-mate to become “one of the greatest strikers in the Premier League”, while also calling for Spurs’s other forwards to “step up” while he is away, just as he did whenever Kane was missing through injury.
"Long-term Richarlison is a player who Spurs may consider upgrading, although that could still change if he proves himself while Son is away"
There may not be enough big games for this period without Son to be defining for Richarlison, but he has a certain leading-man energy and it may bring out the best in him.
While he may not be an elite finisher, he has other qualities that suit Postecoglou’s approach — he is energetic, versatile and a great character — and the manager has said he is playing with more freedom and in a better place “mentally and physically” since the surgery.
In mid-November, when it emerged that Saudi clubs were considering a January bid for Richarlison, it was easy to wonder if Spurs may be tempted to cash in but, as it stands, there is little chance they would allow the in-form striker to leave just as he appears to have finally settled in north London.
Long-term, however, Richarlison is a player who Spurs may consider upgrading, although that could still change if he proves himself while Son is away.
