Why Watford wonderkid Richarlison is the answer to Tottenham's lack of Plan B

Football can be a cruel game, and few know that more than Erik Lamela. The Argentinian was signed for a club-record fee by Tottenham Hotspur in 2013, and endured a difficult start to life at the club.

Things picked up when Mauricio Pochettino arrived, and Lamela started to become a match-winner. Then, just as things were going well, he suffered an injury that has kept him out for a little over a year. In Lamela’s absence Pochettino has struggled to fill the void. In the frantic, energetic side that is Tottenham Lamela added a bit of guile a bit of class.

“If we’re playing against teams like [Crystal] Palace, Swansea [City] or Burnley that are playing a lot deeper, you don’t need pace you need quality, good individual quality, one v one,” Pochettino said recently. “Like Lamela, that can break one v one, because every single action is building, building, building.

“If you have pace you can be stopped with the wall and you crash. You need good quality and capacity to drive, an individual like Lamela can bring that quality to the team.

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“To be dynamic, or to have players with high tempo, doesn’t mean that they have to run fast. If we wanted players to run fast we’d sign Usain Bolt or these types of players.”

Lamela is taking his first steps back into the fold, but Tottenham can ill-afford to be more patient in the hope he regains his momentum.

Instead, Spurs must turn to a new face, and with each passing week it becomes harder to ignore Watford’s Richarlison. Pochettino has previously attempted to sign the type of player he described above, adding French pair Moussa Sissoko and Georges-Kevin N’Koudou from Newcastle and Marseille respectively.

Unfortunately, Sissoko has never looked convincing since his £30million move, while Pochettino admitted recently that N’Koudou must still develop if he is to play for the first team.

“Yes, but we are waiting for him still,” Pochettino said. “He is not… you know today he is not showing this condition to play. He needs to show more.”

By contrast, the Brazilian has taken to the league effortlessly. He arrived at Watford amid little fanfare despite being scouted by a number of high profile European clubs. The move had all the hallmarks of the Pozzo family’s approach at Italian club Udinese.

The Zebrette’s network of global scouts had helped them snap up South American talents such as Juan Cuadrado and Alexis Sanchez in the past, and Richarlison is starting to look like an equally shrewd piece of business.

Direct, aggressive, and full of confidence, his eagerness to take the ball and drive forward has been a huge asset to the Hornets.

He sits third in the team’s attempted dribbles per game column, and is also third in key passes for Watford players with over 10 Premier League appearances this season.

Furthermore, he has produced the joint most assists for Watford this season, and more importantly he is also the team’s leading scorer in the league. A subtle indicator of his danger is the fact he remains one of the most fouled players in the Premier League this season alongside Eden Hazard and Sanchez.

His coach at Fluminense Abel Braga described him as a ‘modern forward’ and it’s easy to see why. The Brazilian is two footed, able to play a handful of positions, and is surprisingly composed in front of goal for someone so young. He has found success in a side that is not afraid to change formation – like Pochettino’s – with both three and four man defensive systems being employed by the Hornets.

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The attacker’s positional versatility should appeal to Pochettino, with Richarlison comfortable operating as a winger or an attacking midfielder this season. Against Newcastle at the weekend he sat behind Andre Gray in something of a free role, although he often gravitated towards the left flank – the player himself has said in the past he feels he does his best in a wide position.

Pochettino did a good job of installing tactical discipline in Lamela, and the same could do wonders for Richarlison, as would playing with the likes of Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen.

As it stands, Watford are highly unlikely to sell, even for an exorbitant fee. The Brazilian is only 20 years old and tied down to a five-year-contract at Vicarage Road. He is firmly viewed as part of the club’s future, and tempting the club into a move would likely require Spurs to break their previous transfer record.

Such a move might seem risky given that Richarlison has not yet established a consistency in the Premier League. Even now his game has areas that could improve – most notably his ball retention – but that sounds hypercritical to say of a player that is also still so young. Spurs were said to be chasing Thomas Lemar in the summer, but his price is likely to far exceed that of Richarlison.

Add that to the Brazilian’s positional versatility, his individual quality and attacking assets, and it makes him the perfect fit for this Spurs side, and the perfect response for Pochettino’s frustrating Lamela dilemma.