Ange could soon unleash exciting Spurs starlet to replace Richarlison

Tottenham Hotspur have been rocked by the events of the past week, with Ange Postecoglou‘s side taking to Premier League action last Monday in pole position, undefeated, and finishing the week with two losses and a depleted squad.

Such is the way of football, and the recent travails must in no way detract from Postecoglou’s stunning start to life on English soil, having taken the helm of a rusty Spurs outfit and swiftly restoring the club to its former vigour – and that’s having lost Harry Kane to Bayern Munich in August.

Defeats against Chelsea and Wolverhampton Wanderers, compounded by injuries and suspensions, have indeed dented the seasonal resurgence, and perhaps come as a bit of a reality check given the lack of depth that the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal boast.

The 58-year-old Postecoglou will be sanguine in the contending with his depleted ranks, however, and will have stressed to his squad that they are only two points behind league leaders Manchester City.

With James Maddison and Micky van de Ven out injured until the new year and Cristian Romero still suspended for two matches after his dismissal against Mauricio Pochettino’s Blues, the short-term presents something of a quandary.

And the recent news that Brazilian forward Richarlison is set to be sidelined for up to a month following a groin operation, Postecoglou might now be inclined to dig into his formative fold and unleash an exciting new talent to maintain the depth.

Jamie Donley is surely one of the top candidates to start earning some match action with the seniors, having scored six goals and provided 11 assists from only 11 games this term, but his inability to reach the same heights out wide could mean that Postecoglou turns to another youth star to replace Richarlison.

And while Donley will be the name of the youthful attacking outlet that springs to mind for most, the club might find the custom-made stand-in in Richarlison’s absence in Nile John.

Nile John’s career so far

The 20-year-old attacking midfielder has been said to be ‘predominantly right-footed but is skilled with both feet‘ by Spurs’ official website, with a dynamic understanding of the game that has allowed him to find success out wide too.

John was called up to Tottenham’s first-team training in preparation for the north London derby earlier this season, speaking volumes of the talent at his disposal and Postecoglou’s eagerness to provide him with opportunities.

Having made two senior appearances for the Lilywhites already, John has chalked up 16 goals and seven assists from 93 outings for the outfit’s respective youth teams.

His ease across central and wide roles will have undoubtedly earned him brownie points over the course of his ascent to the top so far, and with Richarlison out injured – and Maddison, for that matter – a new attack-minded presence to complement the existing ranks could pay dividends for Spurs in returning to winning ways, with the deepening of the ranks only aiding the squad in their efforts.

Nile John’s season by numbers

Following last year’s endeavours, John knew that to catch the eye in his development he would need to notch up his goal return, and he has certainly ticked that box in the Premier League 2.

Indeed, in the league, the versatile ace has already plundered three goals and an assist this season from only six starting appearances, having been praised for his notable “quality” by football.london’s Alasdair Gold, who will be tuned to the player’s progress.

John has also featured twice in the EFL Trophy this season against senior opposition – Peterborough United and Cambridge United – and while Wayne Burnett’s development side lost both encounters, John impressed and averaged five ball recoveries, as per Sofascore, also completing 83% of his passes and winning 53% of his contested duels.

With Richarlison among the first-team absentees, perhaps Postecoglou will be tempted to dip into his youth ranks and unleash John in his stead.

Richarlison’s season by numbers

The £90k-per-week menace joined Tottenham from Premier League rivals Everton in a £60m transfer in 2022, but his maiden campaign in London was anything but auspicious, scoring just one league goal all season.

So far this term, he might’ve only posted one strike in the top flight, but he has also supplied three assists, and that coming from just seven starting displays.

As per FBref, Richarlison ranks among the top 13% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for assists, the top 16% for total shots taken, the top 5% for touches in the attacking box, the top 10% for blocks and the top 3% for aerial wins per 90.

While he still hasn’t found the shooting boots that saw him score 53 goals from 152 appearances for Everton, or indeed clinch 20 goals from just 48 Brazil caps, the rate of contribution has seen an upswing, though whether this is maintained over the coming months remains to be seen.

There is evidence that the 26-year-old is performing at a higher level since the summer, now just one goal contribution behind last year’s total, and Postecoglou will be confident that he will return from his current absence with fresh life in the legs.

Having been hailed for his “relentless” running by Goal editor Joe Strange, Richarlison will now hope that the groin operation that will leave him sidelined for the foreseeable will revitalise him and reopen the pathway to clinical success.

But in the interim, promoting John to the first team could be the perfect option, especially considering that Brennan Johnson and Dejan Kulusevski’s recent form should keep the widemen in their starting spots on the wings.

John would offer his skills as an understudy, also capable of filling in from deeper when called upon, and given that he is actually outscoring Richarlison in less game time (albeit at a very different level of competition in the Premier League 2), it might be something worth pondering for Postecoglou.