Doubts have spread about Roberto De Zerbi and some sections of the Tottenham Hotspur fan base in light of the Richarlison drama, with many especially miffed that De Zerbi has cast Richy out completely by not even registering him in the squad when Spurs could use a healthy striker coming off a season in which he led the team in Premier League goals - and to relegation safety.
Richarlison's transfer to Everton fell through on deadline day, as the player was understandably unwilling to accept lower wages, even to move to his favorite club. But then it was Spurs who rejected a reasonable offer from Turkish Super Lig giants Trabzonspor, who would have paid 20 million euros to unite Merseyside forward rivals Mohamed Salah and Richy on the same pitch.
Now, Tottenham are scrambling for interest, and the only club that seems to want to sign him is Vasco da Gama in the Brazilian Serie A. Of course, the Brazilian top flight is the only main league with an open transfer window right now, as the Saudi Pro League is unlikely to accept any petitions for a Richarlison deal to go through. And it's not like anyone from Saudi has been lining up to make an offer.
Roberto De Zerbi has been right about Richarlison
The best transfer bids on the table since the Everton deal collapsed have been for a meager 20 million euros for Richarlison, and even in Brazil, Vasco da Gama are the only club concretely linked to the player and can pretty much pay as little as they want for someone who will leave Spurs for free next year anyway.
Roberto De Zerbi pretty much threw Richarlison out the door before the summer 2026 transfer market closed in England by saying that Richy wanted to leave this whole time and asked to leave. Richy himself denied this, but it is telling that the other players De Zerbi mentioned as wanting to leave - Kevin Danso and Pape Matar Sarr - did indeed want to leave and had already left before the Premier League window closed on Sept. 1.
Therefore, it stands to reason that there was validity in what De Zerbi was saying. And unlike Sarr and Danso, there were not multiple Premier League teams lining up for Richarlison, as only Everton wanted him back out of sentimentality. And abroad, only Trabzonspor and Vasco da Gama have submitted serious offers.
That plays into what De Zerbi wanted. De Zerbi does not want Richarlison at Tottenham, and he does not see much of a future in a player who showed how terrible he can be in the Matchday 1 loss to Brentford. And the fact that he has so little interest as a striker despite 11 Premier League goals speaks to how other clubs view him, too, and it sounds like it isn't just De Zerbi who doesn't rate him highly.
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