‘Richarlison is versatile and that means a lot’

Following the news of Richarlison’s arrival from Everton, Matt Doherty has opened up on his first-hand experience of the qualities the Brazilian forward possesses.

The versatile 25-year-old has put pen to paper on a contract with us until 2027 and joins with a wealth of Premier League experience already under his belt, having plied his trade for Watford and Everton over the last five years.

During that time, Richarlison has come up against us on several occasions and shown his attacking prowess throughout, notably scoring twice to help the Toffees edge past us in an FA Cup thriller at Goodison Park in February, 2021, where the Merseysiders ran out 5-4 winners after extra time.

Right wing-back Matt played against him that night – and in other Premier League games, including on his debut for us in September, 2020 – and believes we’ve made a very useful acquisition.

“One match that comes to mind was the FA Cup game where he ran a lot and caused us a lot of problems, and that was probably the main reason they beat us in that game and got through,” said Matt in the wake of Richarlison’s arrival.

“He’s a very good player, very difficult to play against and has very good movement. I remember my first game for Tottenham was against Everton at home and he was playing off the left or as a striker so I know the problems that he can cause.

“Whenever you have a player who is right-footed and plays off the left – and I’m just speaking from my personal perspective – when a player can go inside and play as a number 10, can play out wide, can beat a man, it’s the worst thing to play against, so it’s very exciting for us.

“He’s versatile and that means a lot – he can pop up in any position, he’s calm, he keeps the ball well and knows how to find the back of the net. We’ve got a few of those players up front, so having another one now is great. He’s a top-class player and we’re very fortunate to have him now.”