Roberto De Zerbi insisted he had no choice but to leave Richarlison out of Tottenham’s Premier League squad after the Brazilian declined the offer of a contract extension and repeatedly insisted he wanted to leave the club.
Richarlison was Spurs’ leading scorer in the Premier League last season, but did not feature in last weekend’s defeat to Newcastle United amid discussions of a return to his former club Everton. He eventually rejected that move but, with Tottenham bringing in Omar Marmoush from Manchester City, there was no space for the 29-year-old in De Zerbi’s 25-man list of players he plans to use in the league this campaign.
“At the beginning of pre-season I spoke to Richarlison and asked him if he wanted to extend his contract because I was happy to keep him with us,” said De Zerbi. “He didn’t want to. So, Richarlison is a good player, yes. He was important last season, yes, very important. He’s a good guy, yes. But in the end, I had to stop myself putting pressure on the players if the players show me they want to leave. I’m sorry for him, but we have to go to another page and work with Dominic Solanke and Omar Marmoush.”
Richarlison has spent the week training separately from the first team, but the head coach denied cutting the Brazilian adrift, insisting: “He decided everything. Not me, not the club.”
Spurs will have deadline-day arrival Mykhailo Mudryk available for Saturday’s trip to Nottingham Forest, with De Zerbi suggesting the Ukrainian is ready to play up to 30 minutes after signing on loan from Chelsea.
Mudryk has not played a competitive match since November 2024, having served a doping suspension. But De Zerbi, who worked with Mudryk at Shakhtar Donetsk, previously said the winger “has the potential to win the Ballon d’Or”.
“He’s 25, he’s in the right moment of his career in a top club. I think it’s the right moment for him to show what he can do,” said the Italian. “Mudryk loves football. He lives for football. I have never seen many players like him as a mentality, as a belief, in the work during the week in training. He works double than other teammates.”
The Tottenham head coach confirmed fellow new arrival Savio is available again this weekend, but James Maddison is likely to miss out as he recovers from a shoulder fracture. Spurs are yet to score in successive Premier League defeats to Brentford and Newcastle this season. – Guardian