Tottenham Leave Richarlison Out of Squad as Everton Return Collapses

Tottenham Hotspur have left Richarlison out of their Premier League squad for the first half of the 2026/27 season, a decision that effectively closes the door on the Brazilian's time in north London.

The 29-year-old forward came close to rejoining his former club Everton before Tuesday's transfer deadline, but a deal fell through. Tottenham had already made their position clear to Richarlison before the deadline passed: he does not feature in their plans, according to the BBC.

That conversation will have stung. Richarlison has been here before — fighting for his place, proving people wrong — but being omitted from a Premier League squad, the registered list of players eligible to play league matches, is a different kind of signal entirely. It is a club saying, in the plainest terms, that they would rather not use you.

The twist is that the door may still be open elsewhere. Transfer windows in Turkey and Saudi Arabia remain open, and Richarlison is expected to leave Tottenham in the coming days if a suitable offer arrives.

His four years at Spurs have been a study in false dawns. Signed from Everton in the summer of 2022 on a contract running to 2027, Richarlison arrived with 173 Premier League appearances behind him and a reputation as a relentless, awkward, physical presence in attack. The price tag — a reported £50 million plus add-ons — carried real expectation.

There were moments that hinted at a player ready to justify it. In September 2023, he scored twice in stoppage time as Tottenham came from behind to beat Burnley, a finish that felt like it might unlock something. The following August, under new head coach Thomas Frank, he scored both goals in a 3-0 win over promoted Burnley on the opening weekend of the 2025/26 season — Frank's first Premier League match in charge. Richarlison went on to feature in 43 of Tottenham's 52 games that campaign, per the club's official site, before a hamstring injury ruled him out for nearly two months from mid-January 2026.

International recognition kept coming. Brazil named him in successive World Cup qualifying squads in 2025, and he has remained part of the Seleção's plans through the conclusion of the South American qualifying campaign.

For all that, the club have decided. Son Heung-min, the Tottenham captain, publicly backed Richarlison during a difficult period in September 2023, calling the squad a family behind the forward. That warmth, though, could not change the trajectory. Four managers have now worked with Richarlison at Spurs, and none has made him the centrepiece of their attack.

What happens next depends on Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Both leagues have shown willingness to invest in established names from Europe, and a Brazil international with Champions League experience and a World Cup pedigree will attract interest. Richarlison's contract still has ten months to run, which complicates any fee but also sharpens Tottenham's desire to sell now rather than lose him for nothing next summer.

For now, a player who once walked off the pitch in tears after a Brazil friendly, then talked openly about seeking psychological help, faces another period in the margins. The talent has never been the question. The fit, increasingly, is.