Richarlison is the only Tottenham Hotspur attacker to have found a rhythm so far this season, claims a pundit who has questioned the form of Dejan Kulusevski.
Tottenham signed Richarlison in a big-money move from Everton this summer to bolster their attack. There were initially some doubts as to whether their investment would be worth it. After all, it was hard to see him getting past Harry Kane and Son Heung-min.
Kulusevski also made his own strong case for a starting place after joining from Juventus in January. Therefore, Antonio Conte has been juggling with four options.
He admitted at a press conference on Tuesday that some of his players will have to get used to the idea of being rotated. The head coach is in the process of getting them out of the habit of being accustomed to always starting.
Therefore, their previous starters may be looking over their shoulders now. Richarlison has two goals from two starts so far this season; Kane has five from seven, Son has none from seven, and Kulusevski has one from five.
Son is under particular pressure to keep his place, despite being the Premier League top scorer last season. But according to former Brighton striker Glenn Murray, Kulusevski has been out of sorts as well.
Indeed, Murray does not believe the Sweden international has looked like the same player who made an impression for Tottenham in his first half a season with the club.
Murray told BBC Radio 5 Live: “He (Richarlison) seems to be the only one (in a groove). Harry Kane to a certain extent.
“But Kulusevski has been blowing hot and cold. I would say he hasn’t hit the heights we saw him hit when he came in last season.
“Then obviously the big talking point at Tottenham is Son Heung-min.”
Kulusevski can up his game but is no stranger to rotation
Tottenham are third in the Premier League table after their opening six domestic matches. They have scored a total of 12 goals in the competition so far.
For perspective, although an average of two goals per game is useful, there are four teams to have scored more than them in the Premier League up to this point.
If they can get the likes of Son and Kulusevski firing again, while giving Richarlison more responsibility alongside Kane, there should be no reason to panic.
But expectations are high at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after a busy summer in the transfer market and with Conte at the helm. If they are to remain competitive towards the top (having qualified for the Champions League with their finish last season), they will need all their big players to remain sharp.
Conte has reminded that his squad is evolving and still has some way to match the very biggest clubs. But the sides they are striving to catch are all used to having multiple reliable attacking players.
Kane has already proven his consistency over a number of years. As for Son, this has been the first major bump in the road after years of reliability.
Richarlison and Kulusevski all have what it takes too, but will need to prove themselves on a regular basis. The latter is used to a rotation role from his time with Juventus, but he seemed to be on the track towards better things individually with Tottenham.
Things can change quickly in football, so he will have to ensure his standards remain high enough. There is little doubt that Son is the one of whom most questions are being asked at this point, though.