Tottenham Hotspur are open to cashing in on Richarlison when the transfer window reopens in the coming weeks
Tottenham Hotspur are preparing to make Richarlison ‘available’ to suitors after boss Ange Postecoglou has decided that he is willing to offload the Brazil international, but transfer insider Dean Jones has told GIVEMESPORT that the north Londoners could still opt against spending big on a striker despite targeting Brentford striker Ivan Toney in the summer.
Spurs have been battling for Champions League qualification and spent periods of the campaign sitting at the top of the Premier League despite allowing talismanic forward Harry Kane to join Bayern Munich in a £100million deal just a matter of hours before the season got underway, but there will be another opportunity to freshen up the squad in the coming weeks.
Postecoglou, who led Tottenham to the 20th win of his reign when they sealed a 2-1 victory over Burnley last weekend, has been holding internal discussions with sporting director Johan Lange and chairman Daniel Levy over plans to make adjustments to his current options ahead of the summer window opening for business.
Newly-crowned Saudi Pro League champions Al-Hilal are privately confident that they will succeed in landing Richarlison before the 2024/25 campaign gets underway, according to MailOnline, having been frustrated when they made initial enquiries over his availability during the winter transfer window.
The report suggests that a formal approach has not been made for the 27-year-old striker, who has been on Spurs’ books since completing a £60million switch from Everton less than two years ago, but his current employers are expected to listen to offers as Postecoglou is planning to oversee a significant overhaul of his squad.
Writing in his exclusive GIVEMESPORT column, respected journalist Jones revealed that there are lingering doubts over whether Richarlison will remain in his current surroundings heading into next season – having been forced to battle with captain Heung-min Son for a regular starting berth – and Tottenham would allow him to depart if they can recoup what they paid for his services.
The Lilywhites are in a strong negotiating position ahead of the likes of Al-Hilal and other interested parties potentially testing their resolve as the South American still has three years remaining on his £90,000-per-week contract, meaning they will not entertain accepting a cut-price bid.
Jones understands that Richarlison is in line to be put on the market by Tottenham as Postecoglou needs to raise a considerable amount of cash if he wants to reshape his squad ahead of his second season at the helm, and Brentford marksman Toney has been pinpointed as a potential replacement.
But the reputable reporter doubts that Spurs are willing to pay more than £45million for the England international despite securing a nine-figure fee for Kane less than 12 months ago as Levy is not prepared to fork out an exorbitant sum on fresh attacking impetus during the fast-approaching summer transfer window.
Radu Dragusin could join Richarlison in moving onto pastures new as Napoli are preparing to reignite their interest in the central defender, according to The Sun, as they initially looked to tempt him to the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium before he linked up with Tottenham during the early stages of 2024.
The report suggests that Spurs would ask for as much as £40million after the Romania international has struggled to leapfrog Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven in the pecking order, resulting in him being restricted to just 244 minutes of action since his winter arrival from Genoa, but Postecoglou is not actively looking to sanction his quickfire exit.
