Kevin Ratcliffe claims Richarlison isn’t suited to play as a second striker despite Tite’s remarks

Richarlison
Richarlison

Everton forward Richarlison continued his fine form for Brazil over the international break, coming off the bench to bag the winner in the 1-0 victory over Cameroon.

The 21-year-old has now scored three goals in six games for the South American giants, while he has six goals in 10 Premier League appearances for Everton.

Richarlison came on for the injured Neymar during the friendly against the African side, playing as a second striker alongside Manchester City’s Gabriel Jesus and later Liverpool’s Roberto Firminho.

Brazil’s manager Tite reckons the Everton forward can feature as a second striker going forward, but club legend Kevin Ratcliffe believes he isn’t ready to play in the position.

“Richarlison also came off the bench to replace Neymar and scored the winning goal for Brazil against Cameroon but although he’s done well as both a winger and a centre-forward for both his club and country this season I’m not sure about his national team coach Tite’s remarks about his ability to also play as a second striker,” Ratcliffe told Liverpool Echo.

“From what I’ve seen, I’d say no. Not at the moment but maybe later on in his career. I can’t see him as a Peter Beardsley type of player but then Gylfi Sigurdsson is different too.

“I think somebody like Richarlison has got to play as far up the pitch as he can, I don’t want to see him coming deeper and trying to link players in. He’s scored six goals already and every game he’s having chances.”

Manager Marco Silva will surely have heard Tite’s remarks and could be tempted to try Richarlison out in a third position.

But going by Ratcliffe’s comments, the youngster is clearly not ready to play as a second striker, and the Portuguese mustn’t heed the advice of the Brazilian tactician as it could backfire.

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