Dejan Kulusevski has described Richarlison as an ‘unbelievable player’ and backed the Brazilian to deliver in the number nine role this season.
Spurs paid £60m to sign Richarlison from Everton last summer and the 26-year-old was expected to add more goals to an already strong N17 frontline
However, the striker’s first season at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium did not go to plan as he struggled to become a regular starter, suffered several injuries and finished the season with just one goal in the Premier League
I did not go
Richarlison will be hoping to be at his best this season, as the striker has been given the responsibility of leading the team following the departure of Harry Kane to Bayern Munich
Kulusevski believes Richarlison will shine as a Nine
The former Everton player endured a frustrating afternoon at the G-Tech Community Stadium on Sunday as he mainly made a living as an understudy
But Kulusevski has no doubts that the striker will score many goals this season
The Swede told The Athletic about Richarlison: “We have to make them comfortable
I think Richie is a great player in the opposition area
He’s going to score a lot of goals if he just gets close to the goal, I’m 100 percent sure of that
” We’ve already seen this in Brazil
So we just put him closer to the goal and feed him a cross or a pass, even if it doesn’t hit the net
His relentless pressing and ability to hold onto the ball and earn fouls make him a great asset to the team
He also always tries to extend the opponent’s defensive line by running from the back
You’re a versatile player but what do you believe is your best position, the one you can produce the most from?
It’s a very good question, I’ve been thinking about this all my whole life. I always thought of me being a No 10, I still think I am, but my best results as a football player have always come being a right winger, so I don’t know! In the future, we will see where I’ll be. Yeah I can probably play wing-back too. It’s football, you want to help a good team, you want to play, enjoy, work hard and have fun.
You said you love to suffer, how have you taken that into these training sessions?
It’s amazing, it’s really amazing to have pain everywhere. I think it’s a fantastic thing to have you know? I love to work hard because everything in life comes from working hard. It’s a little bit difficult, of course, nothing is easy, but this is what you have to do to become a champion.
Were you surprised yourself by how well you did?
Both yes and no. I knew I can play football, I knew my qualities, but I came from a really hard time where I didn’t play for six months. So of course I was a little bit, you know… I know the Premier League is much faster and much stronger, but I got much help from the team, from the coach and the players, so I’m really grateful for them taking me in and letting me be myself.
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