Richarlison's future at Tottenham in doubt: De Zerbi wants him to stay but awaits a clear decision
Tottenham Hotspur enter the closing stages of the summer transfer window with an important question in attack. Roberto De Zerbi has openly admitted that he still does not know whether Richarlison wants to remain at the north London club, although he considers him a valuable part of the squad and a player whose goals will not be easy to replace. The Brazilian striker further underlined his importance by scoring in stoppage time to secure a 2:1 victory over Chelsea in Sydney, but his contract runs only until June 2027, meaning Tottenham must balance their sporting ambitions, the player's market value and his personal plans during the summer.
De Zerbi receives conflicting messages
Roberto De Zerbi did not try to hide the uncertainty after the pre-season match at Accor Stadium. According to him, Richarlison had sent different signals at different times: sometimes he spoke like a player intending to stay, and sometimes like someone considering a departure. The Italian coach therefore stressed that a direct conversation was needed to clarify what the 29-year-old striker truly wants before the start of the new competitive season. At the same time, he said there was no personal conflict between the player and the club, particularly highlighting Richarlison's daily work, professional attitude towards his responsibilities and the status he enjoys among his teammates and members of the coaching staff.
De Zerbi also made it clear which outcome he would personally prefer. He sees Richarlison as an important striker because he possesses an instinct for taking up space in the penalty area at the right moment and the ability to turn rebounds, crosses and brief opportunities into goals. The coach's message was that even a financially powerful move into the market does not guarantee finding a player who will immediately fit in and deliver the same output. A new striker may have greater potential or a different profile, but his contribution in the demanding environment of the Premier League always carries a certain degree of uncertainty. Richarlison, by contrast, has already shown that he can score in English football and that he understands the physical, tactical and emotional demands of the competition.
An important part of De Zerbi's position also concerns respect for the player's decision. The coach can publicly express his desire to keep him, but a long-term stay makes sense only if Richarlison himself is fully committed to the project. During a period of squad rebuilding, Tottenham need players who accept their roles, the competition and the demands of the new coaching staff. De Zerbi's words were therefore not merely praise for the striker, but also a call for clarity. The club cannot plan the season, the composition of its attack and possible additional transfers until it knows whether one of its most experienced strikers will remain after the summer.
A 92nd-minute goal as a reminder of his value
A few minutes before De Zerbi's statements, Richarlison offered the best argument for his stay on the pitch. Tottenham defeated Chelsea 2:1 in the Sydney Super Cup on 1 August 2026, with the Brazilian striker deciding the match in the 92nd minute. According to Tottenham's official report, Jamie Donley struck the post, after which Richarlison reacted quickest and put the rebound into the net. It was a typical goal from a striker who does not give up on a move and who recognises at the crucial moment where the ball will end up. There were 80,363 spectators in the stands at Accor Stadium, and the match was the first meeting between Tottenham and Chelsea to be played outside the United Kingdom.
Tottenham took the lead in the 17th minute through new midfielder Sandro Tonali, whose shot after a pass from Manor Solomon was deflected by Levi Colwill. Chelsea equalised only four minutes later, when Estêvão Willian headed home after a run and cross from Jamie Gittens. Spurs played almost the entire second half with ten men because Kevin Danso was sent off shortly after coming on as a substitute, while goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky prevented Chelsea from taking the lead on several occasions. Despite their numerical disadvantage, Tottenham retained the ability to attack in transition and eventually took advantage of one of the final opportunities. Richarlison's goal prevented a penalty shootout and gave De Zerbi a winning conclusion to the tour of New Zealand and Australia.
The goal against Chelsea was not an isolated pre-season flash. An AFP agency report states that Richarlison also scored in the 2:0 victory over Auckland FC the previous weekend. Two goals during the tour cannot decide his future on their own, but they confirm that he entered pre-season sufficiently prepared to influence results. For a coach trying to establish patterns of play, pressure without the ball and clear movements in the final third quickly, such form has immediate value. At the same time, it strengthens Richarlison's negotiating position because it reminds the club and potentially interested buyers that he is not a player on the fringes of the squad, but a striker who can still decide matches.
Contract until 2027 leaves Tottenham facing a strategic decision
Richarlison joined Tottenham from Everton in July 2022, and the club officially announced at the time that he had signed a contract until 2027. This means that on 2 August 2026 he entered the final eleven months of the existing agreement. Such a contractual situation leaves little room for postponing a decision: if he stays without extending, his market value will gradually decline as the end of his contract approaches. In that scenario, Tottenham could use him for one more season, but would accept the risk of him leaving without a transfer fee in the summer of 2027. The other possibility is a sale during the current transfer window, while the club can still negotiate from a more favourable position.
The third option, which De Zerbi's statements make the sporting priority, is a new contract. Such a move would not necessarily mean that Richarlison must remain for the entire new period, but it would protect the player's value for Tottenham and provide the coach with stability in attack. Before that, the two sides would have to agree on the length of the deal, financial terms, expected playing time and his role in a squad that already has several options for the central striker position. The official first-team list includes Dominic Solanke, Mathys Tel and Dane Scarlett alongside Richarlison, while several wide players can take on some attacking duties. Competition therefore exists, but the number of players alone does not guarantee the same profile or equal reliability in front of goal.
There is currently no official confirmation that Tottenham have accepted an offer for Richarlison, that the player has agreed terms with another club or that negotiations over a contract extension are in their final stages. The public knows only that the coach wants him to stay and that the striker's own answer is not yet sufficiently clear. This is precisely why the next discussions carry more weight than ordinary summer squad assessments. Tottenham must know whether they are building their attack around a combination of the existing players or whether they need to secure a replacement before the market closes. Richarlison, on the other hand, must assess whether De Zerbi's project offers him a sufficiently important role during a period that could strongly influence the final part of his career at the highest level.
Twelve goals in a season marked by a battle for survival
In defence of his position, De Zerbi cited Richarlison's output from the 2025/26 season. The Brazilian striker scored 12 goals in all competitions, 11 of them in the Premier League, according to Tottenham's official statistical review. In doing so, he equalled his best goalscoring return in a single season for the club, and by the end of May he had reached 75 career goals in the Premier League. Of those, 27 were scored in a Tottenham shirt during his first 101 league appearances for the club. Those figures are not enough to describe his four London summers as completely successful, but they show why the coach does not want to lose lightly a striker who found a way to reach double figures even in a poor team season.
The club's official profile states that Richarlison appeared in 43 of Tottenham's 52 matches during the 2025/26 season. His continuity was nevertheless interrupted again by a hamstring injury in January, which, according to the coaching staff's assessment at the time, could have kept him out for up to seven weeks. Injuries are an important part of evaluating a future contract because they affect availability, rhythm and the possibility of the striker leading the line over an extended period. Nevertheless, his return to reach 12 goals for the season after such an interruption further explains De Zerbi's assessment that the goals were not accidental. Richarlison may not always be elegant in build-up play, but his energy, physical play and sense for finishing give the team elements that are not easy to find in a single player.
His value is not limited to the classic role of the most advanced striker. During his career in England, he has also played on the left, attacked the space behind defences and participated in aggressive pressing of the opposition's back line. Such adaptability could be particularly useful to De Zerbi, a coach who demands precise positioning from his strikers during build-up but also a quick reaction after possession is lost. On the other hand, Tottenham must assess how Richarlison's qualities will fit alongside Solanke, Tel and the other attacking players, and whether the club can justify a new multi-year contract for a player who will turn 30 in May 2027. This is not merely a question of past achievements, but a projection of performance, health and value over the coming seasons.
The decision comes amid Tottenham's major rebuild
Richarlison's situation is unfolding at a time when Tottenham are trying to change direction after another extremely difficult league season. According to the official Premier League table, Spurs finished the 2025/26 season in 17th place with 41 points, only two more than West Ham in the first relegation position. They recorded ten wins, eleven draws and 17 defeats, with a goal difference of 48:57. Club chairman Peter Charrington publicly stated in May that two consecutive 17th-place finishes were unacceptable and announced investment over several transfer windows. In the same address, he confirmed that De Zerbi had signed a five-year contract and that the board intended to provide him with stability for the rebuilding of the squad.
De Zerbi took charge of Tottenham on 31 March 2026, while the club was still fighting for survival. His appointment was not conceived as a short-term intervention, but as the foundation of a longer-term sporting project focused on returning to the upper part of the Premier League. The club has already brought in a number of reinforcements during the summer, including Tonali and defender Jan Paul van Hecke, while official tour materials also list Martin Dúbravka, Mateus Fernandes and Andy Robertson as new members of the squad. Such activity confirms that the team is changing across several lines, but according to AFP, Tottenham had not signed a new central striker by 2 August. Richarlison's decision is therefore directly connected to whether the club will have to redirect some of its time and money towards the striker market.
For De Zerbi, it is crucial to enter the new season with a clearly defined hierarchy. If Richarlison stays, the coach gains an experienced striker who knows the league, can play in several positions and is coming off a 12-goal season. If he leaves, Tottenham could free up space in the squad and direct the transfer income towards a younger or tactically different option. However, the search would take place under time pressure, and selling clubs would know that Spurs need a replacement. De Zerbi's remark that it is not easy to find another striker like him is therefore not merely public support for Richarlison, but also a realistic assessment of the market risk.
Staying brings an opportunity, leaving brings new uncertainty
For Richarlison, staying in London could offer continuity in the league where he has built the largest part of his European career. He knows the club, his teammates and the everyday environment, while the new coach has publicly expressed confidence in him. At the same time, he would have to accept strong competition and prove that he can be regularly available after several periods marked by injuries. The winning goal against Chelsea shows that he can still be decisive, but a pre-season match does not guarantee a place in the starting line-up once the Premier League begins. The decision on a new contract will therefore probably also depend on how De Zerbi envisages the distribution of minutes and whether he sees Richarlison as the first-choice striker, an equal option or a specialist for certain matches.
A departure would open the possibility of seeking an environment in which he would have a more secure starting role or a different competitive challenge. However, without an officially confirmed offer, it is impossible to assess whether a market exists that simultaneously satisfies the player's ambitions and Tottenham's financial requirements. The club has no interest in selling below value merely because the contract is entering its final year, while Richarlison has no reason to accept a transfer that does not bring him a clearer sporting perspective. Longer negotiations are therefore also possible, especially if Tottenham first want to assess the available strikers or if interested clubs wait for the later stages of the transfer window. Every delay, however, increases the risk that the decision will be made under pressure.
The most important fact after the victory in Sydney remains that neither side has yet closed any doors. De Zerbi did not announce a sale or publicly push Richarlison to the margins, but stressed his importance and the need to respect what the player wants. Richarlison responded on the pitch, first with a goal against Auckland and then with the winning touch against Chelsea in the 92nd minute. Tottenham must now turn that sporting moment into a clear contractual and transfer decision. Until the conversation takes place and concludes with a concrete agreement, the Brazilian striker's future will remain one of the key unresolved questions during De Zerbi's first full summer in north London.
Sources:
- Tottenham Hotspur – official match report from the game against Chelsea in Sydney, result, scorers, sending-off and attendance (link)
- The Guardian – De Zerbi's statements about Richarlison's future and a description of the winning goal against Chelsea (link)
- AFP / Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha – the coach's statements, Richarlison's goal against Auckland FC and the context of Tottenham's summer spending (link)
- Tottenham Hotspur – official confirmation of Richarlison's contract until 2027 and information about his arrival from Everton (link)
- Tottenham Hotspur – official data on 12 goals in the 2025/26 season and his goalscoring milestones in the Premier League (link)
- Tottenham Hotspur – player profile stating that he made 43 appearances in the club's 52 matches during the 2025/26 season (link)
- Tottenham Hotspur – official report on the hamstring injury and the estimated period of absence at the beginning of 2026 (link)
- Premier League – final table for the 2025/26 season and Tottenham's record in 17th place (link)
- Tottenham Hotspur – official announcement of Roberto De Zerbi's appointment as head coach on 31 March 2026 (link)
- Tottenham Hotspur – chairman Peter Charrington's letter about two consecutive 17th-place finishes, the coach's five-year contract and the multi-year rebuilding of the squad (link)