Cartilage Free Captain

Roberto De Zerbi posted a quick team update video on Tottenham Hotspur’s social media accounts, and if you’re a Spurs fan you’re probably not going to like it. In addition to the injury to Misha Murdryk, De Zerbi also cast doubts on the fitness of both of Spurs starting fullbacks, saying both Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie are doubts for tomorrows match against Everton with muscle weakness.

So there are two ways to look at this news. You can throw your hands up in despair in the context of the past two seasons of recurring injuries and rage, rage against the dying of the light. OR — you can look at the context of De Zerbi’s comments, in which he notes that Pedro Porro is coming off of the back of a very long summer in which he won the World Cup, and Udogie is coming off of a year in which he battled significant injuries. Both have a lot of miles on the tires, and both are being treated cautiously.

Tottenham replaced their medical staff last season, and also appointed a new Head of Performance in Dan Lewindon. All reports are that Lewindon is changing the way the medical staff addresses and prevents injuries through changes in workouts and training methods, and that there’s now a much greater tendency towards bringing players along slowly and not taking undue risks when players report small problems. There’s also been reports that suggests De Zerbi can be frustrated by the recommendations of the medical staff in these issues, but understands the issues behind it and is broadly supportive.

For Everton, that probably means we’ll see Andy Robertson at left back and Archie Gray at right back, but who knows — De Zerbi isn’t immune to the odd tactical surprise (he played Porro as a right winger in a recent match and, for example, Micky van de Ven can play on the left), and there’s cover at both positions. That’s why they’re there.

Honestly, I’d rather Porro and Udogie sit out the odd match if the medical staff is playing it safe than bitch about it when they are out for 4-6 weeks.

Mason Melia isn’t the Championship striker currently making eyes widen and tongues wagging — that’d be league scoring leader Will “BIG WILLY LANKS” Lankshear, whom Spurs sold to Middlesbrough for good money this summer (with a sell-on and matching clause) and who has 7 goals in 7 matches. But the 18-year-old Irish international striker is pegged as a massive future talent, which is why Spurs sent him out on loan to Championship debutants Lincoln City Imps this summer.

Melia’s tenure with Lincoln City got off to a slow start — he has played just 18 Championship minutes this season as he adjusted from youth football to life in the second division of English football, coming off the bench twice in the league but starting Lincoln’s second round win over Blackpool in the EFL Cup. But now it appears that acclimation has hit a bump in the road — according to Aladair Gold of Football.London, Melia will now miss the next 4-6 weeks due to a thigh injury he picked up in training.

It’s a bummer, because sitting out will obviously hinder his development at a crucial time in his loan, potentially preventing him from working his way into the club’s plans. At this time there doesn’t appear to be any talk about terminating his loan, as with the upcoming international break he won’t miss too many games for Lincoln. But it’s a shame, since the only way we’ll find out if he’s Championship level as a teenager is for him to play Championship matches.

Hopefully he heals up soon and is back on the pitch ahead of schedule.

”I think we’re building something great here. It’s an exciting time for the Club and that’s why I’m happy to extend my contract.

”I’m always trying to achieve as much as possible, to be the best version of myself both on and off the pitch and I know this is the right place to do that.

“Personally, my goal is to produce more for the team - performances, goals and assists - to help as much as I can. I’m getting better every day in training and I’m looking forward to what will be a really good season ahead.”

”Every day in training you can see Lucas’ desire to learn, improve and push himself to the highest level.

”Lucas is brave, he wants responsibility and has the personality to play in big moments. He also understands that development is a process and he has shown a fantastic attitude towards working on the areas of his game where he can become even better.

“I believe his best football is still ahead of him and we want to give Lucas the platform to reach his full potential.”

Baby steps for Tottenham Hotspur in the new season as last weekend not only featured the first point of the campaign, but also the first clean sheet! Perhaps holding Forest to under 0.92 xG is not the most impressive achievement, though it was nice to see the defense stabilize a bit after a couple rough outings, as this is supposed to be the anchor for the squad.

Still, Spurs enter the fourth matchweek in an all too familiar spot: 17th place. This is thanks to an agonizing goal drought that unfortunately feels justified. Despite the outburst against Charlton, the refreshed attacking band still has yet to find the back of the net in the league. A fourth-straight goalless appearance seems unlikely against Everton, but who knows at this point.

The Toffees come to North London unbeaten after finding stoppage-time winners against both Bournemouth and United. David Moyes’ squad is ostensibly the underdog in this contest, but in no way does this appear to be a straightforward task for Tottenham. Perhaps once the dam breaks the goals will just start flowing in, but that requires somehow finding that first one.

Match Details

Date: Saturday, September 12

Time: 12:30 pm ET, 5:30 pm UK*

Location: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London

TV: NBC/Peacock (US), Sky Sports Main Event (UK)

*Hope everyone is enjoying this timeslot, with three of the first four contests landing in this afternoon window. October has two more matches scheduled at this time as well!

After four straight seasons of winning at home and losing or drawing on the road against this side, Spurs went up to Merseyside last October and became the first visitors to win a match at the new Hill Dickinson Stadium, with a Micky van de Ven brace helping fuel a 3-0 victory. Of course, the reverse fixture will not soon be forgotten, with Joao Palhinha’s effort ultimately securing safety on the final day.

Optimistically building

Omar Marmoush nearly had Tottenham’s first league goal of the season at the City Ground and showed a lot of promise from the No 9 position. With Savio still working his way into the side and Mohammed Kudus making an appearance last weekend too, the sheer talent level up front is significantly rising compared to whatever Roberto De Zerbi had to work with last spring.

On one hand, it feels like a broken record to keep preaching patience, but on the other, it really has only been three matches. Until the first-choice options are all able to feature together, it feels far too early to panic, especially since there have been encouraging signs. Even a healthy Dominic Solanke is an asset that has been missing, and I really think there could be a dramatic change once the pieces are all available.

It will not be easy breaking down a structured Everton defense, but the home side should be able to control the ball against an opponent that is averaging under 50 percent possession. It is figuring out that final move in the box that continues to frustrate Spurs, but showing competence on the ball would actually be some good progress in itself. If the new signings are good to go, this could be a nice outing.

Pessimistically cursed

Even though no one is expecting Mykhailo Mudryk to do much of anything, he becomes the latest player to arrive in North London and immediately get hurt, reminding us of the seemingly never-ending uphill battle this club is facing. Thankfully, the Tottenham defense is mostly in tact — and is coming off its best performance yet — but forgive me for wondering how things ever fully turn around.

With the ball, Everton will go at Spurs directly, and it will be interesting to see if the aggression of Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie could be exploited as the fullbacks are often roaming high up the pitch. This does not mean that De Zerbi should instruct his side to be overly conservative, but it would not be surprising at all to see the Toffees force van de Ven into a classic last-ditch tackle at some point.

Even decent defending might not be enough to fully protect the net. Everton has been ripping strikes through the first three weeks, including impressive hits from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall against Palace, James Tarkowski against Bournemouth, and of course the ridiculous winner from Ainsley Maitland-Niles against United last weekend. Antonin Kinsky must be aware of this and stay ready whenever the Toffees are approaching.

Realistically thinking it is time

Though the visitors are the side in better form, it does feel like Spurs are the ones truly on the rise. I joke about the constant injury popups, but in truth it appears that more players are coming back to health than getting hurt, so on the whole, the squad should be stronger each week! Most excitingly, these reinforcements are coming in the attack, an area that has been lacking for so long.

Another loss, or even disappointing draw, would not shock anyone in the slightest, but it does feel like it is time to finally get in the win column. Everton is a fine opponent, but this is a fixture that has gone Tottenham’s way regardless of the recent ups and downs, and nothing really jumps out in this one as a huge red flag.

Three points is the need here, which obviously requires at least one goal as well. I said it earlier too, but I really think that once Spurs finally get the monkey off their back, there could be fireworks. I do not always like to end with a prediction, but I think this is the weekend: give me multiple goals in a comfortable win as De Zerbi’s side gets it done at home.

Richarlison’s tenure with Tottenham Hotspur is ending on an especially sour note. After failing to secure a transfer away from Spurs in the waning days of the Premier League transfer window and seeing a move to Trabzonspor in Turkey collapse after Spurs rejected two transfer bids, The Athletic now writes that Richy is considering legal action against Tottenham to force the club to nullify his contract. Roberto De Zerbi left Richarlison off of Tottenham’s league registration list, meaning he either needs to find a way to end his contract, negotiate a sale to Brazil, or train on his own until the transfer window opens in January.

Richarlison joined Spurs from Everton in 2022 for a fee of £50m, a fee that just four years later feels almost quaint, and represents the explosion in transfer fees in the league over the past few seasons. He is in the last year of his contract at Tottenham, though Spurs can extend his contract a further year due to a clause in his contract. There are no signs that Spurs are planning to exercise this option.

Brazilian outlet O Globo is reporting that Vasco da Gama, Richarlison’s childhood club, are interested in signing him, but that Spurs are asking a transfer fee of £20m to sanction the deal, an amount that Vasco is not willing to pay. The Brazilian transfer window is open through Friday of this week (i.e. tomorrow) and unless Richy can negotiate a termination of his contract it’s unlikely he’ll be able to move.

The details of what precisely happened at the end of the Premier League window are a little murky, and I doubt we’ll ever get the full context as to what actually happened to cause the breakdown between the player and the club. Accounts of who is more to blame for the situation vary depending on the report and whether the source is close to the club or the player. What we do know is that Richarlison’s transfer to Everton was somewhat contingent on Iliman Ndiaye coming to Spurs in the other direction, though the deals were considered separate. Reports say Richarlison was open to returning to Everton but ultimately rejected the move after Everton didn’t satisfactorily meet his wage demands. Everything beyond that is open to interpretation.

The Athletic report states that cancelling a players’ contract under the Premier League’s “Just Cause” rule, described as “any circumstance in which a party can no longer reasonably and in good faith be expected to continue a contractual relationship.” Whether that applies to Richarlison in this case remains to be seen, and is likely why the player is considering legal action. The Athletic states that should Richy be successful in compelling Spurs to cancel his contract, he could sign with Vasco on a short term contract until January, and renegotiate a more permanent deal there (or elsewhere) when the midseason window opens in January.

If Richarlison stays at Spurs, he is eligible to play in U21/Premier League 2 matches, and cup competitions, though it is unlikely De Zerbi would select him for domestic cups.

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Richarlison is in a bit of a pickle. After a frantic Premier League transfer deadline day that saw a move back to Everton, the club Spurs signed him from a few years ago, collapse, Pombo has seen his options dwindle by the day. Richarlison was left out of Tottenham’s squad registration by Roberto De Zerbi last week, which meant at the time his only options to play competitive football this season were clubs in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Portugal, and Brazil.

A move to Trabzonspor in Turkey was mooted, but the window closed without an agreement. Likewise, the windows in Saudi Arabia and Portugal have also now closed. According to a report by Alasdair Gold in Football.London, that means the only option left for Richy is a permanent transfer back to Brazil, his home nation.

Spurs have already used up all of their permitted six international loans (Radu Dragusin to Fiorentina, Yang Min-hyeok to Westerlo, Guglielmo Vicario to Inter Milan, Kota Takai to Sint-Truidense, Mikey Moore to Köln, and Souza to FC Porto) so a loan to the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A is out of the question. The only way Richarlison leaves the club before January is if Tottenham and some unknown Brazilian club can come to a permanent transfer agreement before Friday, Brazil’s transfer deadline.

How likely is that? Boy, I have no idea, but it doesn’t seem very at the moment. There have been nebulous links about a return to Brazil for Richy in the past, but I haven’t seen anything even hinting at that this entire summer. That said, the Campeonato Brasileiro has actually spent oodles of money this summer; the league is second behind the Premier League in total money spent on transfers this summer, though it should be noted that the largest transfer fee paid is the €10.5m Cruziero paid LA Galaxy for Gabriel Pec. Considering Spurs were asking £35m for Richarlison for Premier League clubs this summer, if there is a Brazilian club interested in bringing Richy home this week, Spurs will very likely need to take a not-insignificant bath on his expected fee.

The other option, of course, is to have Richy train on his own or with the U21s until the January transfer window opens and then try to offload him somewhere then. That’s the least palatable option for him, unless he’s content to sit tight and assess his options in a couple of months. Regardless, the decision has already been made for him by De Zerbi about his status on Tottenham’s first team, and the only thing left to do is salvage whatever’s left of his career and engineer a move somewhere else. Or the club can terminate his contract, allowing him to become a free agent. That might become an option in January if Spurs can’t find him a new home, and might be the way things end up; Richy’s contract at Spurs expires in June, though Spurs have the option to extend him a further year.

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