Reports have linked with Chelsea with a move for Fluminense’s Richarlison, a promising young Brazilian that is lighting up the Brazilian league.
Not much is known about the attacker, so we caught up with popular Brazilian Twitter account, @BrazilStat, also known as Seleção Brasileira to get the low down on the player.
Who is Richarlison and what do Chelsea fans need to know about him?
Fluminense has one of the top three youth academies in the country in recent years and is known, alongside Santos, to be the team that gives as much possible game time to youngsters in order to help them develop with regular first team football.
Richarlison’s case was no different, he took advantage of the club’s philosophy and made his league debut in 2016, before establishing himself as a regular following his impressive with Brazil U-20 in the South American Championship in January. Although the national team had a horrible tournament, two names stood out: the Fluminense man as well as São Paulo’s David Neres – who henceforth, plies his trade for Dutch giants Ajax. The 20-year old has been very inconsistent, starting the first few months of 2017 on a low, before gaining his best form in the past two months. Right now, he is considered a fan favourite at the Carioca club, and their fans would be very disappointed if he leaves.
Would you describe the player as an out-and-out winger or someone versatile enough to play as a striker as well?
Richarlison’s initial position in Fluminense’s youth ranks was a striker, in a central position. But Brazil U-20 coach Rogério Micale used him as a left winger during the Sul-Americano, and he impressed in this improvised role, and then retained it at his club – probably for team needs at the same time, as Henrique Dourado is the team’s top goalscorer in 2017 and he owns the number nine spot. Richarlison does not lack pace to operate as a winger, however, his poor decision making leaves a lot to be desired. While his dribbling relies on pace rather than close control, he tends to keep his head down and brainlessly dribble without looking to a teammate located in a better position. The player is still pretty much immature and loses the ball very often. While he has an eye for goal, he is not a special dribbler and is tactically very poor.
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte would certainly appreciate hard-working players, which is not the case for the Brazilian. As to occupying a central position, Richarlison is physically soft and would struggle when finding himself surrounding in the box by big defenders – which is very common in a demanding league as England’s.
Chelsea signed both Nathan and Kenedy from Brazil, neither have really worked out as of yet, would Richarlison be any different should a deal go through?
Signing Nathan was a big surprise for everyone in Brazil, as the player had been very sub-par and failed to leave his mark for Atlético Paranaense, whenever given the chance in first team football. In 11 league appearances, he could not find the net, not even once. Nathan had impressed in World Cup U-17 in 2013, and that’s about his only “achievement” til date. As for Kenedy, he is a player who typically chases his first touch, massively overrated so it is no surprise that he failed in England.
Richarlison has better ball control and is fairly a better player than both. He impressed more than them during his [short] spell in the Brazilian league, however, he is still very far from being good enough to boost the ranks of the English champions.
Reports say Antonio Conte wants him, is he a player that can go directly into the first-team squad?
Richarlison certainly does not have the level to improve Chelsea at the moment, not even as a bench player. If he does complete his move to the English capital, I expect him to fail to establish himself and to be loaned out on numerous occasions, without really convincing the club to permanently keep him – alla Lucas Piazon.
If so, does could he fit into a 3-4-3 or a 3-5-2?
Richarlison is better off in a 4-2-3-1 system, or even a 4-3-3 – but Chelsea use neither. A 3-4-3 is in theory more suitable with the Brazilian’s characteristics, given he plays in the front three, with less defensive duties so that he can concentrate on making smart runs behind the back of the defenders and finish-off attacks.
He’s been linked with Ajax and Sampdoria in several reports, is Chelsea a club too soon for him?
Chelsea is most definitely too soon for Richarlison. He might never have the level to make the difference at such a big club, but what is sure is that he’s got bags of potential to work on. And for that, he needs a club that is ready to give him a lot of playing time, with minimum pressure, in a ‘try and error’ way. He still has a lot to learn, especially in terms of decision making and football IQ. Ideally, the 20-year old should team-up with David Neres at Ajax. Two seasons there, and he would perhaps be ready to make the jump into a stronger league – and who knows, maybe impose himself in England one day.
