Tottenham Hotspur
Premier League • England
Paratici stunned by impact of Tottenham signing who can play ‘three positions’, amid bold prediction
Tottenham chief Fabio Paratici believes that summer signing Richarlison is “perfect” to help manager Antonio Conte progress his exciting project.
Spurs made the former Everton man their club-record arrival in a £60million deal from their Premier League rivals. He was one of six transfer additions who have immediately settled into the Spurs first team.
Although, Richarlison’s arrival has been on show more arguably more than other new faces. Indeed, he was in tears after scoring his first two Spurs goals in Wednesday’s Champions League win over Marseille.
Before that, similar celebrations were cut short after what he thought was his debut was chalked off.
But for Tottenham managing director Paratici, the emotion and passion on show from Richarlison – as well as the talent – is the perfect blend for Conte to work with.
“We are so convinced by him so far,” the Italian told Spurs’ YouTube channel.
“Because this kind of style of football I think is perfect for us. “Not just technically speaking, but about character.
“He’s a fighter, he has big energy, he can play in three positions in the forward line.
“He has great experience in the Premier League and in the national team in Brazil.”
Elsewhere in the team, the likes of Yves Bissouma and Ivan Perisic have also settled in after joining Tottenham. So much so, that Spurs remain unbeaten after six games.
Four wins and two draws have got fans excited about the progress, especially since Conte took over.
Paratici lauds Conte progress at Tottenham
“We are much better, we don’t have to forget this,” Paratici added when reflecting on his time in north London.
“In one year’s time, we want to be here and say we are much better again. I came here one year ago, my first words were ‘We have to be better”, ‘We have to be better to become competitive’.
“I think we are in a good place, the gaps are reducing.
“We finished with 20 points less than Liverpool and Man City, but it’s not possible to reduce these gaps in a short space of time, but we are much better.”
Richarlison helping Spurs on right track
Indeed, Conte got Spurs back into the Premier League’s top four last season.
That is a task that proved too much for former managers Nuno Espirito Santo and Jose Mourinho. Tottenham are firstly looking to maintain last season’s progress and qualify for the Champions League again.
After taking points off Manchester City and Liverpool last season, the message will be to translate those fighting performances into matches against all 19 opponents and achieve consistency.
To match last season’s top two, consistency is the watch word. In the Champions League, meanwhile, Spurs will want to try to get out of the group stage and go as far as they can.
They have a lot of players who are new to European football. So, if they don’t manage to get far, it will nevertheless be a learning curve ahead of hopefully qualifying again.
Richarlison is one of those players who is new to top European football alongside Bissouma. They can only get better by impressing in all competitions this season.
Richarlison helped dig Everton out of a relegation hole last season. He has therefore earned – and is taking the opportunity – to score important goals in matches affecting the other end of the table.