The Premier League transfer window has closed along with most of Europe, but there are still two leagues that are open: the Saudi Pro League, and the Turkish SuperLig. That means they can still purchase players from clubs, even if their transfer window has closed. After a failed transfer for Richarlison between Tottenham Hotspur and Everton the past two days that apparently caused a LOT of hard feelings, Turkish club Trabzonspor is apparently working towards signing Richy before their window closes
on Friday.
According to Fabrizio Romano (siiiiiiiigh), Trabzonspor has reached agreement with Richy on personal terms, but the clubs have yet go agree a transfer fee, with Spurs rejecting two bids of £15m and £20m, respectively.
Romano’s tweet is a little misleading just in the way he phrases it, which makes it seem like Spurs and Trabzonspor have come to an agreement. They haven’t. It’s only personal terms and that’s only one half of the equation. But it does seem like Richy is ready to bail. There’s reporting from ESPN Brazil on Richarlison’s failed transfer that is very sympathetic to the player, suggesting that Richy felt pushed into a move that he didn’t necessarily want, that his intentions and preferences were deliberately misinterpreted by the club, and that his standing among Spurs fans has suffered due to that. It seems Richy’s ready to leave because he feels disrespected and pushed out, and it’s hard not to agree on that point.
Anyway, Trabzonspor feels like a real option here and my guess is we’ll see something soon about an agreement. The original deal with Everton was for £35m, but that fee felt inflated as it was part of the Iliman Ndiaye transfer that collapsed on Tuesday. I don’t think they’re going to get that kind of money from a Turkish club, but I can see either a deal in the £25m range, or a loan with a purchase option/obligation. And who knows, maybe I’m wrong — after all Galatasaray managed to sign Victor Osimhen by promising him obscene wages, post-tax. Sounds like Richy’s getting a good deal on wages too.
Richarlison’s contract expires at the end of this season, though Spurs have a clause to extend it one further year should they desire.
Watch this one, folks. It could get spicy.
