Journalist Paul Brown has said that he does not expect Heung-min Son to continue operating as a number nine for too long despite his hat-trick against Burnley in Tottenham’s last fixture.
The pressure of having to fill Harry Kane’s boots has evidently started to fall heavy on the shoulders of Richarlison, who seems to be lacking in confidence in front of goal at the moment.
Even though the Brazilian got off the mark for the season in Tottenham’s Carabao Cup defeat at Fulham, it was not a huge surprise to see Ange Postecogolou start Son upfront at Turf Moor and play Manor Solomon on the left of the attacking trio.
The move certainly worked, with Son netting a hat-trick and Solomon setting up two of the South Korean’s three goals.
With the versatile Brennan Johnson also arriving at Tottenham on transfer deadline day, there is now even more competition for Richarlison to contend with, and the Brazilian might fear facing an extended spell on the bench.
(Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
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However, Brown believes that the former Everton man will get his opportunities to prove his doubters wrong sooner rather than later.
When asked about Richarlison’s prospects of game time, the journalist told GiveMeSport: “I would like to think that seeing Son score a hat-trick in his position would light a fire under him and give him that kind of kick that maybe he needs.
“I think he needs to show he can respond to that kind of competition, because I don’t think, and it may be a surprise to some people, but I don’t think that Son is going to stick at number nine for the season, just because he scored a hat-trick in that game.
“I do think Richarlison is going to come back into this team at some point, either sooner or later. And that the manager will give him a chance to show that he can score goals from that position and be the player that they thought they were signing when they got him.”
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I fully expect Son to now get a run of games in the number nine role on the back of the hat trick he netted against the Clarets. With Tottenham not having any European football this season and now out of the Carabao Cup, I do not see Richarlison getting too many starts over the next month or two.
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