Sandro tips Rich run of form soon

SANDRO has backed Richarlison to score north of 20 goals for Tottenham next season now that he has recovered from his mental health issues.

A weeping Richarlison opened up on how his life “fell apart” following Brazil’s 2022 World Cup fiasco, which left him battling depression.

Sandro (above) is convinced his fellow Samba boy, who has netted 10 Premier League goals this term, will be like a fresh signing come the start of the new campaign.

The former midfield powerhouse, who spent four years at White Hart Lane until 2014, said: “It’s difficult now to end up with 20 goals, but had he started the season well

(he could have).

“But could you imagine him doing that?

“Replacing one of the best strikers in the world like Harry Kane is hard and Richarlison was not fine with himself. He also had a groin injury.

“But now that he’s a little bit more confident and fit he showed that he can play.

“If next season he starts well he can reach those numbers because he’s strong, he can run and cause the right-back all sorts of problems.”

Earlier this season the former Everton forward revealed he dispensed with opportunistic friends.

And Sandro, who went through it all himself, said: “Generally in football we have people who want to be close to take a little bit of some things.

“It’s normal, it’s life. If one guy is rich everybody wants a piece of the cake.”

Sandro also compared “top player” James Maddison to former team-mate and Holland great Rafael van der Vaart.

He added: “I can see something of Van der Vaart in him – like the mind, the intelligence, the small passes.

“When the game is hard you have to find Maddison for his killer pass.”