‘Marco Silva appointment hands Richarlison Tottenham lifeline’
Richarlison could be set to receive a massive boost to his ailing Tottenham career if Marco Silva takes over from Ange Postecoglou.
Much was expected of Richarlison when he joined Spurs from Everton in 2022 for £60million [Sky Sports], but little has been delivered.
In three seasons at the club, the former Watford man and Toffees man has managed just 14 Premier League goals.
Postecoglou seems destined to be let go by chairman Daniel Levy come the end of the season, with even a Europa League triumph unlikely to be enough to save his job
As revealed exclusively to Football Insider by former Spurs scout, Mick Brown, Silva is currently in pole position to take over at Tottenham, which could prove to be a major boost for not only the club as a whole, but also to Richarlison.
Marco Silva would keep Richarlison at Tottenham despite Everton links
With injury issues and miserable form plagueing his time at Spurs, Richarlison has been linked with a return to Everton.
However, if Silva were to be appointed, one of the Portuguese manager’s first orders of business would likely be to put an end to any chances of that deal happening.
The current Fulham boss brought Richarlison to England, taking a chance on the striker after some promising performances for Fluminense in his native Brazil.
| Richarlison career | Time at club | Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| America MG | 2015-2015 | 24 | 9 | 3 |
| Fluminense | 2016-2017 | 67 | 19 | 3 |
| Watford | 2017-2018 | 41 | 5 | 4 |
| Everton | 2018-2022 | 152 | 53 | 13 |
| Tottenham | 2022-Present | 80 | 18 | 8 |
In their singular season together at Watford, the striker scored five and assisted four as the Hornets finished 14th.
Following the culmination of that season, Silva then took the Everton job on 1 June and only a month-and-a-half later, Richarlison arrived at Goodison Park for £40million [Sky Sports].
The pair were together for two seasons and whilst the Portuguese manager was eventually sacked, after a Covid 19-impacted season, the now-Tottenham striker performed excellently under Silva.
Richarlison playstyle fits Marco Silva’s tactics perfectly
Whilst Dominic Solanke was brought in to be the main man at Spurs, in large part thanks to Richarlison’s issues, the Englishman may see his minutes reduced, thanks to how the Brazilian striker would fit into Silva’s style of play.
Off the ball, the Fulham boss generally employs a classical 4-2-3-1 shape, which then becomes a 4-3-3 with a defensive midfielder acting as the pivot.
Sander Berge currently operates in the holding role, allowing other midfielders to press up the pitch in support of the attacks.
Overlapping fullbacks are key at Fulham right now, especially Antonee Robinson, allowing wingers to run past the striker in the channels.
Speaking of the striker, their role is to get on the ball and be involved in the build-up, something Richarlison does well.
His pressing is also second to none, allowing Silva to adopt a more aggressive front-footed system than he currently does, given the limitations Raul Jimenez has in that department.
As counterintuitive as it sounds, goal-scoring is not the most important remit of a striker in the Portuguese manager’s system, given his ability to create attacking runs from other areas, but if they can do so, as Richarlison proved himself capable of in his Everton days, that is a major bonus.
Getting fit will ultimately be the key factor to the Brazilian forwards career having any chance in North London, but if he can, Silva will undoubtedly make him a key piece of his Tottenham side.