Tottenham signed Richarlison from Everton for £60m on a five-year deal in 2022 but the forward now finds himself in dispute with the North London club
Roberto De Zerbi doesn't know if Richarlison will leave Tottenham Hotspur. Earlier this week, it emerged that Richarlison is exploring the possibility of terminating his contract to allow him to leave the club immediately.
The forward was linked with a return to Everton during the summer transfer window and has since been left out of De Zerbi’s 25-man Premier League squad. But when asked for an update on the 29-year-old's situation at the club, the Spurs boss said: "I don't know. It's not my job.
"What I can say is I know very well what the club has done for Richarlison and I know very well what Richarlison has done for the club in the last month, two months.
"I know, the club knows, he knows, his agent knows. Everyone knows better than you [the media]. Much better."
Tottenham have failed to win any of their opening three games of the season, but De Zerbi's side will be boosted by the return of James Maddison for tomorrow’s game against Everton.
“Maddison, yes [he will be back]," the Spurs boss said, before adding: "I'm happy when all my players are available.
"It is maybe a problem for me because my decisions are not easy. But I want to manage all players together."
But Mykhailo Mudryk is out for the foreseeable future with an ankle injury, while Dejan Kulusevski will also miss the game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
"No, Kulusevski," De Zerbi said. "He's not working us in the last week. It's not a big problem. It's a normal problem when one player is out for a long time, like Mudryk.
"It was a stupid injury for Mudryk, and we hope he can be back soon as possible, for him and for us. For him because he has suffered too much and for us because we have lost one player, an important player.
"He played 20 minutes at Nottingham, he played well. It's normal process when a player has not played in a long time."
On his side’s poor start to the season, the Italian said: "We are better than last season. Especially at the end of the season with many, many injuries.
"It's difficult to believe right now because we are not winning, we are not scoring but I am positive because I believe in my players and the group.
"The players have big qualities and big potential and now... I am positive. There is always the result of the pitch and the performance but we are working well.
"In Nottingham, I watched something different than in Brentford for sure. Newcastle was a particular game because until one hour of the game, I think we deserved to win that part of the game. I think we are in the right way and I think we are in the right moment of improvement."