Could Everton new boy Richarlison play through the middle?
Everton have played their opening Premier League fixture of this new season away to Wolves and left Molineux with a well-earned point following that 2-2 draw.
And after his outstanding debut performance should new signing Richarlison get a chance to play through the middle for Everton?
Although there were many positives to be drawn from the game, one disappointment at Wolves was the performance of Cenk Tosun up front.
The Turkish international looked sluggish and lacking in energy and fitness. He was listless for much of the match and especially didn’t put in the shift needed when Everton went down to ten men after Phil Jagielka’s sending off just before half-time.
Given that the Blues were down a man for the entire second half, the team needed Tosun to work that bit harder to provide the first line of defence and press the Wolves backline. This was particularly important early in the second half as the Blues faced a spell of concerted pressure from the home team.
However he didn’t seem to be able to do so consistently and this surely contributed to Everton often being pinned back deep in their half defending on the edge of their box. On the odd occasion when he did, it often led to a chance for a quick break and counter-attack.
Inevitably given how much possession Wolves had and the quality of balls coming into the box, they found a way through for a second equaliser after Richarlison had superbly put Everton back into the lead.
Richarlison’s excellent display rightly earned him lots of plaudits. One aspect of his performance was the strength, determination and defensive work-rate he showed. The young Brazilian is good in the air and a real physical presence who irritated the Wolves defenders all day. But he also showed his petulant side with a silly yellow card picked up early in the first half. He limped off late in the game although he’s not apparently seriously hurt.
Given how direct and willing a runner he is and how much he likes to shoot on sight, could Richarlison play in a more central role, especially with new signing and fellow Brazilian Bernard to come into the team soon?
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Bernard is versatile and can play on the left or right or in a deeper position. However as Everton already have a natural ‘number 10’ in Gylfi Sigurdsson, he would seem to be particularly suited to playing on the left of the Blues attack.
It’s important not to fall into the trap of last season when too many players were trying to playing the same position, creating confusion and ineffectiveness in the Blues attack.
If Bernard slots in on the left, that might, given Tosun’s lack of form, allow Richarlison to play more centrally although he would still be able to swap with his countryman and whoever was playing on the other flank. Of course Marco Silva might feel it’s too early for this move and not want to do that and instead persevere with Tosun, although his game doesn’t really suit the more fluid approach Silva seems to be seeking.
In addition Richarlison playing on the left offers defensive support to Leighton Baines or Lucas Digne at left-back.
Either way for the first time in a while Everton do have plenty of options up front and the ability to play several different ways giving further hope that this can be a successful and productive season. Roll on Southampton next Saturday.