£60m Tottenham player says rumour he’s just heard about himself is absolute nonsense
One Tottenham player has now surprisingly responded to a rumour he saw about himself in the media.
In this day and age, footballers can quite quickly squash any nonsensical talk about themselves through social media, rather than having to live through the speculation or call a lengthy press conference to dispel the whispers.
Now, Tottenham No.9 Richarlison has done exactly that to pour cold water over talk of him potentially joining a Premier League rival…
Richarlison calls rumours about Tottenham exit “fake”
A story from Gianluca Di Marzio recently claimed that Tottenham had made a player-plus-cash bid to sign Newcastle No.14 Alexander Isak, which also included Richarlison.
It came after a report from the Telegraph stated that Ange Postecoglou is looking to sell the Brazil international this summer.
Now – however – Richarlison himself has addressed that story from Di Marzio on Instagram, with the £60m man simply writing “fake” in the comments section.
Well then – that pretty much puts an end to this particular rumour, to say the least.
Ange Postecoglou should stick with the Brazilian
In our view, it is worth keeping faith in Richarlison for at least one more season – it feels as if the South American could be on the cusp of a breakthrough campaign.
From December to February last season, the 27-year-old was arguably one of the best attackers in Europe, scoring nine goals in eight Premier League appearances as he finally started to show some consistency to go with his immense talent.
Unfortunately, a knee injury disrupted that incredible run of form, and Richarlison only scored one goal in his final eight Premier League appearances of the 2023/24 campaign.
Nevertheless, we believe the man from Nova Venecia could maintain a similar run of form throughout an entire season if he can avoid any more injury setbacks, and it would represent a major risk to sell a player who is clearly capable of brilliance – especially as it feels highly unlikely Spurs would make a profit on the £60m spent to sign him from Everton in July 2022 anyway.
Tottenham Hotspur right-back Pedro Porro has expressed his feeling of helplessness, after missing out on the Spain squad for Euro 2024, despite a good season under Ange Postecoglou. Right-back is not a spot Spain are blessed with large resources either.
Porro was in Luis de la Fuente’s very first Spain squad, having known him from the youth ranks, but after struggling against Scotland, has played just once in a friendly against Colombia. Dani Carvajal was the clear pick for the starting spot, but de la Fuente opted for experience in Jesus Navas at 38 years old, rather than the more youthful and quicker Porro.
“It makes you feel a bit powerless, because you work a whole year to be there, but hey, everyone has their opinion, it’s respectable and that’s how football is. It’s normal, any player would like to play in an international competition and with your country… but that’s it. Keep working on it. That’s what they taught me and that’s how I’m doing it,” he told Cadena SER.
However he was not bitter about losing his spot, or begrudging his international teammates any of their success.
“I’m very happy for them. I have a good relationship with everyone. It’s a very good group, very positive. Especially Fabian because we have the same physio and we share things… I’m also very happy for him. I haven’t spoken much with him. Him or with the rest of them, I’m on holiday and they are competing. So I don’t want to bother him, let him be focused on what he has to be focused on. And we’ll talk later.”
With Carvajal into his thirties and Navas playing his last tournament, the Spurs right-back will no doubt see a chance to make the position his own in the coming years. This Euros perhaps caught Porro a year too soon.
Aston Villa reach ‘total agreement’ to finalise Premier League transfer
Aston Villa are closing in on the signing of a Premier League left-back following an agreement with Chelsea.
Unai Emery is set to get his wish as Villa have now concluded negotiations over personal terms with Chelsea left-back Ian Maatsen, who is set to join on a six-year deal.
The Villans had an offer of £37.5 million accepted for the Netherlands international earlier this week and talks have been underway with the player and his representatives since. A breakthrough has been reached, meaning left-back Maatsen can now undergo a medical and put pen to paper on his contract.
This is according to transfer news journalist Fabrizio Romano, who has now dished out his famous ‘here we go’ slogan for the deal. It’s a big-money addition for Villa and one that fans perhaps wouldn’t have expected as the club continues to struggle with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability regulations (PSR), but it’s being completed nonetheless.
Currently out in Germany representing the Netherlands at the UEFA European Championships, Maatsen will be happy to have gained sureties over his future. The 22-year-old, who spent the second half of the season just gone on loan at Borussia Dortmund, was involved in the recent UEFA Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid at Wembley.
Everton have completed the signing of midfield starlet Tim Iroegbunam from fellow Premier League club Aston Villa.
The 20-year-old joins the Toffees for an undisclosed fee, believed to be £9m, and has put pen to paper on a three-year deal until the end of June 2027.
Iroegbunam becomes Sean Dyche’s first signing of the summer transfer window and will link up with his new teammates when they report back to Finch Farm for the start of pre-season next month.
Everton have moved quickly to secure the services of Iroegbunam who spent three years at Aston Villa, including a loan spell at Championship side Queens Park Rangers in the 2022-23 season.
Iroegbunam, an England Under-20 international, was integrated into Unai Emery’s first-team squad last season and made 15 appearances in all competitions, including one start and eight substitute outings in the Premier League.
Speaking to evertontv after sealing his move to Goodison Park, Iroegbunam said: “I’m very pleased. Everton is an amazing club, a big club and I’m just really happy to join and I can’t wait to get started. It was a move that I didn’t want to pass by. I wanted to take the opportunity.
“When I spoke to Kevin [Thelwell], he told me more about the club – its history, the future and where they see me playing. It made me feel very excited because there are big things coming, especially with the new stadium.
“When I’ve been to Goodison as an opposition player, I’ve seen how the Everton fans are. You can tell straight away what the atmosphere is like – they are always backing the team. I’m going to work hard for them.
“I just can’t wait to get started. I’m going to give everything and I can’t wait to show what I can bring to this club.”
Dyche added: “We’re pleased to add Tim to our midfield options. He is a young player who is still learning and developing but clearly has a lot of the qualities we want in that area of the pitch.”My coaching staff and I are looking forward to starting to work with him in pre-season.”
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