Tottenham forward Richarlison has insisted that he “will not be leaving England next season”. The 27-year-old has been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.
Joining in a £60million deal from Everton in the summer of 2022, Richarlison endured a nightmare first year in north London but he rediscovered his form under Ange Postecoglou last season. Operating in his preferred role as Tottenham’s central striker, Spurs’ No.9 contributed with 12 goals and four assists in 31 games across all competitions.
Having struggled for goals in the opening weeks of the season and seen Son Heung-min take on the centre forward berth ahead of him, Richarlison hit the goal trail in early December with a double in the 4-1 win over Newcastle United. That was just the start of things to come as he scored a total of nine goals in eight successive Premier League games.
On the scoresheet in wins over Nottingham Forest, Everton, Bournemouth and Brentford, the Brazilian helped himself to a double against former club Everton in an entertaining 2-2 draw at Goodison Park in February. Hampered by injury from the start of March onwards and facing three different spells out of action, Richarlison’s last performance of the season saw him contribute with a goal and assist in Tottenham’s 4-2 defeat at Liverpool.
Not featuring in the final three games of the campaign due to a calf injury, the issue unfortunately meant he missed out on Brazil selection for the upcoming Copa America in the United States. Amid that injury blow, Richarlison is now putting in the work behind the scenes to ensure he is fit and firing for Postecoglou and Tottenham in pre-season.
Taking to his Instagram account on Tuesday evening, the player issued an update on his preparations for next season and stated that talk of him leaving Tottenham this summer is “fake news”.
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“I gave up my holidays and came to work in Sao Paulo so I can come back better next season,” he wrote. “What’s been happening in the media these last few days is all fake news. I will not be leaving England next season.”
The news that Richarlison is already putting in the hours ahead of the 2024/25 season will have gone down well with Postecoglou and his coaching staff. The Nova Venecia-born player was certainly missed in the final weeks of the campaign with the Lilywhites lacking the qualities he brings to the team as a striker.
Set to be a big summer for the football club, Spurs have already moved quickly to add to their attack for next term with Timo Werner re-signing for the club on another loan deal. This time joining Tottenham on a season-long loan, the Lilywhites do have the option to sign the German on a permanent basis for £8.5million.
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