The former England striker has weighed in on the problems at Tottenham Hotspur between the head coach and his striker
Alan Shearer believes Richarlison is going to become a problem for Tottenham boss Roberto De Zerbi after being left out of his squad.
Spurs had to leave one foreign player out of their Premier League squad to fit within the rules and De Zerbi decided on the Brazilian forward after the 29-year-old turned down moves to Everton and Vasco da Gama in the past month. Richarlison has already been vocal on social media since his exclusion, asking 'why?' after then being left out the squad before Tottenham's 3-1 defeat at Liverpool in the Carabao Cup despite being eligible for that competition.
Shearer believes it will become a problem that will fester in the background at Spurs over the months ahead.
"Richarlison isn't in the squad, and De Zerbi has said he is not going to play, so you can't reverse it, there is no going back. He has made a decision and he will stick with that. What they do now, I haven't got a clue. You have a player not in the squad that you obviously have to continue to pay a salary to, and he'll be a problem. I don't think he will sit around and be nice," the former England striker told Betfair.
"When they haven't got any goals or wins, and then that on top of it, it is just another problem the manager could do without. But he feels he didn't warrant a place in the squad for whatever reason.
"Obviously, he fell out with the manager, and the manager doesn't like him and vice versa. That is never a healthy situation at any football club."
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Tottenham have not won a Premier League game yet this season in four attempts and have yet to score their first goal in the competition this campaign. On Saturday they welcome Aston Villa in the lunchtime kick-off, with Unai Emery's side also struggling to find their first victory in the league thus far.
"Roberto De Zerbi desperately needs a result . Clearly, he got what he wanted having kept them up last year, and there was a deal that he could bring in whoever he wanted at whatever cost. I have said it before and I'll say it again, they have paid way over the top for some of the players they have brought in, and it is not working," said Shearer.
"Some of his comments regarding their fitness are tough to understand, so he desperately needs a result and a goal. The longer it goes on, the harder it becomes.
"The Spurs hierarchy will want to see a return on their investment now. When you spend that type of money, you need to get results quickly, and the longer it goes, the more desperate it becomes. When you have paid that money out for those players, you need results quickly. They are under huge pressure, there is no doubt.
"I'm not seeing anything really positive yet to justify the money spent. How can you? They haven't scored a Premier League goal or won a game.
"I didn't think they would qualify for the Champions League, but I thought they would be in and around sixth or seventh, something like that. But at the minute, I have not seen anything to suggest they can do that."
He added: "They have a tough one against Villa this weekend, who are in a sticky patch themselves in the league but got a great result in the Champions League. Spurs have been really poor up to now. From what I have seen, I wouldn't be too hopeful that it'll get better quickly.
"If they don't get a result, the three-week break will feel more like three months. That's why both teams, particularly Spurs, need a result on Saturday. Spurs just haven't been good enough and haven't created enough. I have seen them miss one or two chances, but nowhere near enough.
"I know they signed Savio and Marmoush. The situation with Richarlison isn't going away, but I haven't seen anything that suggests to me it will change. I saw Marmoush miss a couple of chances, but I guess that is one positive they have, because if you keep getting in there, then it'll change. But the longer it goes, the harder it becomes. It's not as if they are blowing teams away and being really unlucky."