Spurs must sell Conte's signing who earns more than Van de Ven and Porro

Tottenham Hotspur failed to win the Champions League after looking set to return to Europe's elite club competition for most of the opening days of the campaign, although there is no question progress has been made under Ange Postecoglou.

Of course, that will now need to be shaped next season, but Tottenham's side have been blessed with a lack of cohesion which has seen Postecoglou implement his philosophy with success and ease in the first few months – which has seen him collect three Premier League points. Manager of the Month Awards.

This fast start has seen the dreams of the title race rise above the coveted outfit, but after recommending deception at different points of the campaign afterwards – the result of devastating injuries and collisions – Spurs had to settle for fifth place. place.

After seeing Harry Kane sold to Bayern Munich for £100m last summer, Heung-min Son could have been forgiven for losing his way in the Lilywhites' attack – indeed, the South Korean was not at his best last year and lost his money. long strike partner.

But, promoted to captain after Hugo Lloris lost his starting spot last summer, Son enjoyed an impressive campaign, scoring 17 goals and adding ten assists in the Premier League.

He had his critics in the latter part of the year after he seemed to run out of fuel, but the team captain is still a top player and should play a big role next year.

The same, however, cannot be said for Richarlison, who may have gone by the wayside after a poor 2022/23 season – his first since signing under Antonio Conte in a £60m deal – but must be cruelly dumped this summer, just in case. Tottenham are standing.

Richarlison's season by the numbers

There's no doubt that Richarlison has improved this term after an underwhelming first campaign as a Spurs player, but he has been up and down in terms of form and doesn't show that he will lead the line in years to come.

To his credit, Richarlison has bounced back in goalscoring fashion after a much-criticised maiden campaign in London, where he was a shadow of his one-time Everton front-runners.

The Athletic's Charlie Eccleshare noted that Tottenham have “he missed his physical presence” during the closing months of the campaign. Although only 5-foot-10, the Brazilian is a formidable and durable player, ranking among the top 9% of players in all of Europe's top five leagues last year combined, in the top 1% of blocks. and a top 8% approval rating out of 90, according to FBref.

The thing is, Tottenham are not lacking his physical presence as they lack a physical presence at the head of the spear. Son is a fantastic footballer and one of the best finishers in the Premier League, outperforming his xG (expected goals) for the last eight consecutive seasons, according to Understat.

However, the 31-year-old's inability to use his power up front has left Tottenham feeling toothless in recent months – one of the main reasons for Spurs' late season struggles, as well as Son's.

Richarlison provides that edge to Tottenham's attacking arsenal, so to speak, but is he the best ruler available to Postecoglou? The embattled Australian deserves credit for his work at Tottenham but the club's progress is hanging in the balance.

It is important that Tottenham make the right choice this summer.

Why Spurs should sell Richarlison

Let's dig into the first, most obvious reason Postecoglou should drop Richarlison: his abysmal injury record. Across his two campaigns in north London, the former Watford striker missed 20 games through injury, equivalent to 21% of Tottenham's football.

This is a real problem to go back to the European competition next season, with high expectations to compete in many competitions. Tottenham have only played four games in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup this year as well, and the manager will surely be expecting his side to go deep into the post-season.

Richarlison is also a player with purple patches, which in itself is not a bad thing but his apparent failure to maintain a steady pace of scoring has compounded the ebb and flow of results and performance levels that Spurs have failed to shake under Postecoglou.

But more importantly, Richarlison is getting a pretty penny at Tottenham, with a salary that doesn't reflect his standing at the club or his point on the Spurs scale.

Above is a table listing the first-team stars who have led under Richarlison. The fact that he takes the fatter bacon than defender Pedro Porro, who has been fantastic this season and is one of Tottenham's best players, who has been praised for his “outstanding” season by his manager, is surprising.

But on top of that, Tottenham's Player of the Season, Micky van de Ven, isn't even on that list, earning £50k a week after leaving Wolfsburg for £43m last summer.

Of course, Richarlison was an established Premier League striker when he went down at N17 but there is no way that, in retrospect, he boasted the standing and quality in the club to justify his wages – and the benefit of bringing him to the club.

Postecoglou is understood to have had it identified a number of players for sale this summer. Newly crowned Saudi Pro League champions Al-Hilal are lining up a bid for Richarlison in what adds to news from GiveMeSport that Tottenham are now set to front a move for Feyenoord striker Santiago Gimenez, who has scored 26 goals and provided eight assists this season.

The Lilywhites must show their aggression this summer to build from a promising foundation, and Richarlison must be sold.