ESPN pundit Steven Nicol has criticised Tottenham striker Richarlison and claimed that they will not win anything until they replace him.
The Lilywhites secured victory in their recent FA Cup 3rd round match against Burnley thanks to a superb strike from Pedro Porro, which proved to be the match-winner.
The match saw Richarlison with a scoring opportunity around the 10-minute mark, but the forward narrowly missed the target, sending the shot just wide of the bottom-right corner.
Richarlison struggled to find his form after joining Tottenham from Everton last summer for a hefty fee of nearly £60m. In his debut season, he only scored 1 goal.
Many thought he would flourish under Ange, but he continued to struggle until recently, after returning from a surgery on an ongoing groin issue. Since then, he has scored 5 goals in 5 starts.
Despite his recent surge in form, pundit Steve Nicol asserted that Richarlison lacks the goalscoring ability necessary to lead the line for Spurs.
He brutally slammed the Brazilian and claimed that Spurs can not win anything as long as they do not replace him with a proper goal scoring threat.
He said on ESPN FC:
“They’re missing a goal scorer. I mean all the questions when Son left was who’s going to put the ball in the back of the net? Who’s going to pick up on what he’s not going to be able to deliver? The truth is we don’t have an answer to that because Richarlison’s not a goalscorer.
“If ever there was a game that showed that, it was tonight. The two (chances) we showed in the first half on his left-hand side – pretty weak, both attempts. And then, he’s whiffing on 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 years ago. It’s Johnson and Kulusevski, so who’s going to score?”
TBH Says:
Nicol’s criticism might be a little harsh considering he looks back to his best form since joining Spurs.
But regardless, Spurs are now closing in on the signing of Timo Werner which will no doubt come as a big boost for them.
