Brazilian forward Richarlison has been exiled from Spurs’ first-team picture this season after expressing a desire to leave but failing to secure an exit during the summer transfer window, with a switch to Vasco da Gama falling through on Deadline Day.
The former Everton and Watford star is ineligible for Premier League matches after being omitted from their squad, while De Zerbi has also confirmed that he will not be considered for selection in the senior cup competitions.
He scored with a volley in a 2-2 draw that was played out in front of just a couple of hundred fans at the EV Charger Points Stadium, also netting in the subsequent penalty shootout, which Spurs lost 7-6.
The competition, in which Spurs still have to play Oxford next month as they battle to progress through to the knockout stage, will provide Richarlison’s only competitive football between now and the January window, when Tottenham will hope to offload him on a permanent basis.
Broken relations: Roberto De Zerbi and Richarlison don’t see eye to eye at Tottenham
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There appears to be no chance of a thawing in the frosty relations between Richarlison and De Zerbi any time soon, with the player having backed criticism by Everton legend Duncan Ferguson of the way he has been treated in north London.
“You don’t leave a player like that out unless there’s been a real murder: he’s chinned him or there’s been a proper scrap on the training ground,” Ferguson, the former Toffees striker and interim manager who briefly coached Richarlison at on Merseyside, was quoted as saying on The Overlap Daily.
Richarlison shared those quotes on his Instagram Stories on Saturday, along with the caption: “Thanks Duncan Ferguson, you are right.”
Spurs have spent the last few days in a warm-weather training camp in Marbella, working on both morale and fitness as they desperately seek an end to their winless and goal-shy start to the Premier League season that has come despite a lavish summer transfer spend in excess of £300million.