Richarlison’s hopes of leaving Tottenham Hotspur appear to have suffered yet another devastating blow after one more exit route was taken off the table.
It became very apparent that the Brazilian frontman no longer has a future at the club, all the while Roberto De Zerbi is in charge anyway, after he was left out of the club’s Premier League squad following the close of the summer transfer window.
Tottenham had hoped to offload Richarlison back to Everton late in the window, with a separate deal for Iliman Ndiaye to head to north London also in the works, but both moves collapsed as the Toffees winger ended up at Manchester City and Spurs were left with an unhappy frontman kicking his heels.
After a proposed switch to Turkish side Trabzonspor also fell through, Richarlison’s exit options have been dwindling ever since.
The Portuguese window remains open until September 15, while clubs in the Saudi Pro League can still sign players up until October 12.
A return to Brazil has also been strongly mooted, with their window closing on September 11, but a proposed loan switch to Vasco da Gama is now unable to be completed.
It was reported that Richarlison had given the green light to joining Vasco, but now Brazilian news outlet ge.globo has revealed that Tottenham have communicated to the player that a loan move there would not be possible if he is to leave over the coming days.
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Tottenham reach loan exit limit to leave Richarlison hanging
The reason behind that is because Spurs have already reached the permitted limit of six players loaned to clubs in other countries.
The north London outfit currently have six players on loan outside of England, including Pape Matar Sarr (Juventus), Guglielmo Vicario (Juventus), Radu Dragusin (Fiorentina), Souza (Porto), Kota Takai (Sint‑Truiden) and Yang Min‑hyeok (KVC Westerlo).
FIFA rules do not allow for more than six players to be loaned outside of a federation, making it impossible for Tottenham chiefs to sanction a loan exit for Richarlison to his homeland.
That means the only way the 29-year-old can move on will be via a permanent transfer, with Richarlison currently having just a year remaining on his contract in north London.
Spurs had agreed a £35million fee with Everton for the attacker but could now see that price drop, with buying clubs knowing they are desperate to move Richarlison on.
Tottenham transfer chiefs have taken a gamble, however, given Dominic Solanke’s injury history and the fact that Omar Marmoush has only just arrived at the club on loan from Manchester City.
A clear falling out between De Zerbi and Richarlison has given them little choice, though, as the race to offload the Brazilian continues at pace.