Former Tottenham Hotspur striker Les Ferdinand has now shared his thoughts on whether Ange Postecoglou should stick with Richarlison this summer.
Tottenham will be going into the summer transfer window knowing Ange Postecoglou‘s squad needs to be bolstered for a season in Europe.
One of the main areas needing to be addressed this summer at Hotspur Way is at striker with the loss of Harry Kane last summer naturally leaving a considerable void up top.
With Daniel Levy and Postecoglou having a big decision to make this summer, The Spurs News spoke exclusively to Les Ferdinand about the future of Richarlison in north London.
What’s the latest on Richarlison’s Tottenham future?
The Spurs News understands Tottenham are open to the idea of selling Richarlison this summer if the right offer was to land.
Richarlison is believed to be receiving interest from Saudi Arabia, although the Brazilian has denied any notion of him leaving Spurs this summer.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Richarlison, from Tottenham stats to huge back tattoo
Spurs are said to have a list of six strikers on their radar to potentially upgrade the 27-year-old over the coming months but Tottenham also have several other areas they want to improve.
Going into this summer’s transfer window, Richarlison has three years remaining on his deal which leaves a move to Saudi the most realistic opportunity for Spurs to reclaim the £60m investment made in 2022.
Les Ferdinand shares his honest thoughts on Richarlison
During his time in north London, Ferdinand racked up 145 appearances for Spurs where he was able to return 38 goals.
In total, the former Spurs striker was able to score 149 goals in the Premier League across the various clubs he played for prior to his retirement in 2006.
And in an exclusive chat with The Spurs News, Ferdinand has insisted Richarlison deserves another season to prove himself under Postecoglou.
“He started the season off slowly. And I know he had a few issues, took himself off social media for a bit because of the stick he was getting because he wasn’t scoring and stuff like that,” Ferdinand said.
“And then, you know, the mental health issues, but then came back and he seemed like he was firing on all cylinders.
“But the one question mark is he had quite a few injuries over the season and the times when he was needed and when he was playing well, they lost him to injury,” the 57-year-old added.
“I think you’d have another year with him, for sure. But what you want to do is add to him as well. I don’t think it’s a case of getting rid of him and then replacing; I think where Spurs are right now you want to add to the squad rather than take away and bring another one in.”
Richarlison ended 2023/24 with more to prove at Tottenham
The 2023/24 campaign provided more questions about Richarlison than it answered after the Brazilian struggled to maintain any consistent game time due to injury.
What Spurs fans did see from Richarlison on the pitch was quite impressive with the 27-year-old providing a return of nine goals across a 10-game stretch earlier in the year.
However, injuries have prevented the forward from proving whether that was the level of form he can provide consistently or whether it was just a purple patch.
Richarlison has shown he is a player who is capable of returning double figure goals over his years in the Premier League – albeit just.
But bringing in another striker to provide competition – as Ferdinand suggested – could prove hugely beneficial for Richarlison as it could take a lot of the pressure off his shoulders.
With Europa League football offering more games next season in its new format, Spurs are going to need quality options to rotate their squad if they are to compete across all fronts.