Roberto De Zerbi has admitted he does not know whether Richarlison wants to stay or leave Tottenham Hotspur and he would like clarity from his striker.
The Brazilian, 29, scored a stoppage-time winner to secure a 2-1 friendly win over Chelsea. Leading the line at the Accor Stadium in Sydney, Richarlison pounced on the rebound after Spurs had struck the post through their youth product Jamie Donley.
Speaking about Richarlison afterwards, De Zerbi said: ‘I don’t know. I like him as a player, as a guy, it’s unbelievable the attitude and behaviour, but at the end we have to respect what he wants to do.
‘And we know. Every one of us knows what he wants to do, but for me he’s still an important player, because it’s not so easy to find another striker like Richarlison.
‘Because Richarlison scores goals and he knows the way. The new striker, we don’t know. The other striker, we don’t know. He scored 12 goals last season, not through luck, because he feels the way to score.’
When pressed on whether he was admitting to us that Richarlison wants to leave Spurs, De Zerbi said: ‘I don’t know, I didn’t understand well, because sometimes he said to stay, sometimes he leaves. We have to speak anyway. There is not any problem.
Richarlison is a fan favourite at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but could move on this summer
‘He’s a lovely guy. All of us love him, the team-mates, the club, the staff, because he works hard every day, seriously every day, and we can’t say anything on the pitch.’
Meanwhile, amid reports abroad that Spurs have agreed a deal to sell their captain Cristian Romero to Inter Milan, De Zerbi said: ‘I texted with Cuti yesterday to make a plan for when he comes back to London. Not for the transfer market. That’s not my job. I know there are many solutions in the transfer market.’
Tottenham are now set to return home to London to continue their pre-season preparations for the Premier League. Their beaten opponents in Chelsea, however, are moving on to Hong Kong, Indonesia and Malaysia.
