Are Tottenham leaving for Saudi Arabia? Concerns over ‘failure to recruit’ despite second highest transfer fee
Speculation continues that Tottenham striker Richarlison (27) will head to Saudi Arabia this summer. It has been two seasons since he moved to Tottenham.
According to the UK’s The Bootroom on the 15th (Korea time), transfer expert Dean Jones said on the Rank FC Ultra podcast, “Richarison will head to Saudi Arabia this summer,” adding, “It is very important for Tottenham to recruit a front-line striker now.” He said, “If Tottenham has a good offer, I think it is very likely to transfer Richarlison.”
Another outlet, 90MIN, also introduced nine English Premier League (EPL) stars who are likely to head to Saudi Arabia this summer and chose Richarlison as their second player.
The media said, “When Richarlison was brought in for a large transfer fee, it is true that he had high expectations but did not live up to expectations,” adding, “Many believe Richarlison is not an excellent striker to replace Harry Kane.” “Saudi Arabia’s interest has been known since December last year, but it remains to be seen whether Chairman Daniel Levy, who opposed it at the time, will change his position.”
In fact, rumors about Richarlison’s transfer to Saudi Arabia continued. Saudi clubs with oil money are steadily pursuing the recruitment of players who play in Europe, and Richarlison is also on the radar of Middle Eastern clubs. Recently, Son Heung-min and Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) have also been mentioned, but Son Heung-min has drawn a line on the rumor of a transfer to the Middle East. It is very unlikely that Tottenham will allow Son Heung-min to move.
However, Richarlison’s situation is different. Tottenham, who need reinforcements as a striker, will likely open the door for Richarlison if they can secure transfer funds. If Richarlison leaves the team this summer, it will be just two years since he joined Tottenham in July 2022, according to local predictions.
Based on his performance at Everton, he joined Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of 58 million euros (about W85.7 billion). His fee is still the second highest in Tottenham’s history. However, in the 2022-23 season, his first season as a transfer player, he played in 27 EPL matches (12 starts) with only one goal and three assists. Although he managed to rebound with 11 goals and four assists this season, Tottenham is not very satisfied with his performance, as rumors continue to spread that he will recruit a new striker. This is why some predict that if Tottenham makes an “appropriate offer,” chances are high that he will be able to transfer Richarlison this summer.
However, if Richarlison leaves Tottenham, both the first and second highest transfer fee will remain as “failed cases” for Tottenham. The highest transfer fee for Tottenham is Tanguy Ndombele, who is currently on loan at Galatasaray (Turkiye), and when he moved to Tottenham in 2019, the transfer fee amounts to a whopping 62 million euros (91.7 billion won). However, he has always been lagging behind except for one season since moving to Tottenham, and is currently on loan due to his poor performance and insincere attitude. Some predict that he will terminate and release his contract for the rest of summer, even though his original team is still Tottenham.
In addition, if Richarlison, who spent 58 million euros, the second highest amount in the club’s history, leaves the team in two years, Tottenham will not be able to make full use of the two players it has recruited for the highest transfer fee. Unlike Ndombele, who is difficult to find a new team, Richarlison is different in that he can expect at least reasonable profits from the transfer fee. When Son was leaving Bayer Leverkusen for Tottenham in 2015, his transfer fee was 30 million euros, tied for 11th in Tottenham’s history.