Richarlison's potential move to Brazilian club Vasco da Gama has fallen through after the Tottenham Hotspur forward could not agree on personal terms, according to reports from Brazil. The collapse of the transfer means the 29-year-old remains with the North London club.
Expectations had been that Tottenham would be open to a deal, and Vasco da Gama reportedly offered a three-and-a-half-year contract. However, Richarlison is understood not to be looking to return to Brazil at this time. The player was previously left out of manager Roberto De Zerbi's squad after rejecting a move to Everton before the transfer deadline, a decision that also led to the failure of a transfer for Iliman Ndiaye.
Following the unsuccessful pursuit of Ndiaye, Spurs turned their attention to signing Mykhailo Mudryk, who has since sustained an injury in training and is expected to be sidelined for up to two months.
De Zerbi addressed Richarlison's situation, stating his regret over having one fewer player available. "I am sorry because I have one player less on the list," De Zerbi said. "Richarlison is a good guy. I spoke with him a lot and spent time trying to convince him to stay. But I know the truth. I know what happened in the last month, the last 45 days and I know the behaviour of Richarlison. And it's clear. I can't explain it because it's not right but I'm sorry because it could have been different and in a different way it could have been better."
Richarlison, who was Tottenham's top scorer last season with 11 Premier League goals, has reportedly been exploring legal action to nullify the remaining nine months of his contract, with interest from Brazil a factor in these considerations.
Tottenham has struggled to score in the opening matches of the season, failing to register a shot on target in their goalless draw against Nottingham Forest last week. De Zerbi expressed confidence in his team's attacking potential and challenged Omar Marmoush to take on a greater scoring responsibility. "Marmoush is playing well," De Zerbi commented. "In Nottingham he played a good game, not a fantastic game, not fantastic with the last decision. But he was alive and in the game. He seemed to be dangerous. He is smart, understands football. In terms of goals, he is not Harry Kane but he can score more goals than he has done in the last two seasons. If you analyse his qualities he can score more goals and has to demand more goals of himself."
De Zerbi also suggested that Marmoush could be paired with Dominic Solanke in attack, noting that the club had initially envisioned Marmoush playing alongside another striker or as a lone forward when he was signed.