Tottenham Hotspur have been urged by former Premier League figure and talkSPORT pundit Gabby Agbonlahor to keep hold of Richarlison amid recent transfer links to Real Madrid.
Earlier this month, it was reported by ESPN that the Spanish giants are tracking the Brazilian and see him as a potential summer transfer target.
Despite still being in the midst of his debut season at the north London club after arriving from Everton last summer in a deal worth £60m, this link to Real has made the attacker the topic of conversation with one pundit in particular.
Speaking to Football Insider, Agbonlahor had this to say about Richarlison and his current position at Spurs.
He said: “I would hold on to him if I was Spurs. He could come good for them. But he needs game time. You can’t be bringing him on for 20 minutes every week and expect him to score goals.
“He’s not scored in the Premier League this season because he hasn’t had the time. I’ve been there. When you’re brought on as a sub, you’re not warm enough, you’re not used to the pace of the game.
“Conte needs to give him time and give him a run of games so he can go out and prove himself. If they sold him now, they’d be losing money.”
This season has seen the 25-year-old start just 10 of the 20 games he’s appeared in for Antonio Conte’s side across all competitions, scoring two goals and providing three assists.
Should Spurs sell Richarlison in the summer?
Yes
No
Having yet to score a goal in the league for Spurs, despite being hailed by journalist Josh Bunting for an “unbelievable” goal he scored for Brazil in the World Cup back in November, Richarlison, as Agbonlahor spoke about, could be suffering from his lack of consistent minutes.
However, the former Everton star has still managed to show his attacking prowess by having the third-highest rate of shots on target per 90 minutes (1.11) at Spurs behind Harry Kane (1.51) and Son Heung-min (1.34).
Looking ahead to the summer, we agree with Agbonlahor that Spurs shouldn’t consider selling Richarlison to Real Madrid in the summer unless an offer comes in that would see them make a profit on him.