No wonder Tottenham fans are still singing about the “new Brazilian” after 18 months. Before Richarlison’s current march, it is necessary to go back to March 2021 – when he was still an Everton player – when he last scored in three consecutive Premier League games.
If Richarlison hadn’t played by the old cliché – he really does look “like a new signing” since rediscovering both confidence and movement – there would have been a lot more excitement in January.
Spurs were already looking weakened before Cristian Romero was sent off at half-time in the 2-1 win over the Toffees, with Ange Postecoglou revealing that he felt “tension in his thigh joint”. The Argentine spent the first 45 minutes pushing the ball away from Dominic Calvert-Lewin and the second minutes on the ice mat.
Richarlison has also been struggling with a back injury and with the new year comes new problems. In addition to Mali’s Yves Bissouma and Senegal’s Pape Matar Sarr, who are heading to the African Cup of Nations (Afcon), Son Heung-min will travel to the Asian Cup. Son’s absence is particularly harsh as Spurs will be hurt by his absence by his former striker: South Korea coach Jurgen Klinsmann.
Postecoglou is already looking to January and the chance to strengthen an increasingly fragmented squad.
But there are few assurances in the winter deals. The club will focus on a new central defender, which Postecoglou has already said is a “priority”.
Marc Guehi is expected to be a long-term target with the Crystal Palace defender’s breakthrough to England. The likelihood of this happening mid-season is slim.
Nice’s Jean-Clair Todibo, Bournemouth’s Lloyd Kelly and Fulham’s Tosin Adarabioyo are also high on the list and although there is talk about how attainable they are for a reasonable fee, they are all considered more realistic immediate targets.
The need is greater than ever following Romero’s absence as the defender will undergo a scan in the coming days which will show how long he will be out.
When Davinson Sanchez was sold, it seemed like the right move – now Spurs might turn to academy product Ashley Phillips, who has featured often on the bench this season but is only 18 years old and Postecoglou doesn’t want to fast-track him into the first team. If VAR hadn’t overturned Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s goal for a foul on Emerson Royal in training, we’d be talking more seriously about Eric Dier’s failure to close him down.
It is natural that we do not want to solve temporary problems with permanent solutions. Micky Van de Ven and James Maddison will return in January, although Postecoglou admits that it is “difficult to say” exactly when.
At the moment, the suspensions make things look a bit worse than they are: Destiny Udogie received his fifth suspension of the season against Nottingham Forest, while Bissouma is serving a four-match ban, his third suspension of the season and all before Christmas. Even Romero failed to do so.
Still, it will be worrying to see how the midfield duo of Oliver Skipp and Sarr have struggled to control – and that’s without the injured Abdoulaye Doucoure, who has been a force of nature in Everton’s resurgence and is still the Toffees’ top scorer in the league.
When Skipp lost possession, a man in a black cap could be seen shouting furiously from the stands. It was Rodrigo Bentancur, who was sitting with the rest of the walking wounded Spurs. Everton kept coming and at times only Guglielmo Vicario’s acrobatics kept them from scoring.
Whether Spurs survive a relatively quiet January depends in part on their goals, but the win put them back in the top four.
A number of injuries and absences could be blamed for their November collapse, when they lost three consecutive games to Chelsea, Wolves and Aston Villa. The results are much better now.
Few Premier League clubs are expecting major overhauls in the next month, notwithstanding the fact that this is a window notoriously difficult to do business in.
Postecoglou, whether we are talking about refereeing decisions or transfers, is not looking for excuses. Thanks to his crisis management (Spurs’ brief relegation was only a minor crisis), there is no sense of panic whatever happens in the coming weeks.
But there may be something to enjoy in north London while it is so calm. The “ENIC OUT” signs that once characterised the opposite side of the pitch have disappeared from Tottenham High Road. The anti-Lions balloons that were on the pitch at the start of the season are a distant memory.
Postecoglou remains determined to bring in the reinforcements that Spurs would undoubtedly need. Will this make or break their season? They might surprise you.