Tottenham Faces Setbacks Before Carabao Cup Clash at Liverpool
Tottenham’s build-up to their Carabao Cup trip to Liverpool has been jolted by a double setback and a simmering saga that refuses to die down.
Tonali and Porro ruled out, Udogie returns
Sandro Tonali and Pedro Porro will both miss the tie, leaving Roberto De Zerbi without two key pieces of his spine. Porro is still battling the muscular problem that kept him out of the goalless draw with Everton, and the Spaniard has not recovered in time.
Tonali joined him on the treatment table after taking a knock in that same 0-0 at the weekend, adding fresh disruption to a squad still trying to find its rhythm.
There is at least one shaft of light. Destiny Udogie is back.
The Italy international left-back, absent against Everton, is set to return to the matchday squad and restore some balance to a defence now stripped of Porro’s thrust on the opposite flank. For a team yet to score a league goal this season, the loss of an attacking full-back and the return of another feels like a cruel trade-off.
Richarlison saga overshadows cup plans
Injuries, though, were quickly pushed to the background once De Zerbi sat down in front of the cameras. The conversation turned, inevitably, to Richarlison.
The Brazilian has already been left out of Tottenham’s 25-man Premier League squad, but the Carabao Cup operates under different registration rules, meaning he could, in theory, have been involved at Anfield.
De Zerbi shut that door instantly.
Asked directly whether the former Everton forward might feature, the Italian cut through the speculation. “You already know everything,” he told reporters. “Nothing changed for the Carabao Cup or Premier League. The situation is the same. I can’t say anything more because it’s not my job. I can answer about the results, the players in the squad, the offensive space, the defensive space, but not for the other things.”
The message was unmistakable: as far as the head coach is concerned, Richarlison is out of the picture.
Contract offer rejected, relationship broken
De Zerbi then outlined how the stand-off had developed. He revealed he had tried to keep Richarlison at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at the start of the summer, even going as far as personally proposing a contract extension.
“What I’ve done, at the beginning of this season, was to speak with him, and to propose an extension of the contract,” De Zerbi said. “If he said no thank you, I have finished my job.”
The refusal marked a turning point. From there, the relationship slid away from the pitch and into the boardroom.
Richarlison started the league opener at Brentford but was later told he could leave. A return to Everton never materialised, links to Trabzonspor came to nothing, and the striker rejected a move to Vasco da Gama on Friday. Each non-move only deepened the sense of stalemate.
Goals missing, and a specialist in hurting Liverpool stays out
On the pitch, his absence cuts deep.
Tottenham have yet to score in the Premier League this season, and now they must go to Anfield without a forward who relishes this fixture. Richarlison has four goals in seven appearances against Liverpool for Spurs, a record that underlines exactly what De Zerbi’s side will be missing under the lights in the cup.
His penalty-box instincts, his aggression, his knack for turning tight games – all of it stays on the sidelines while the dispute rumbles on.
“I can’t go every day to pray for him to stay”
De Zerbi stressed that this is not a personal feud but a fault line between player and club.
He hinted at a fraught spell behind the scenes but refused to unpack it in public. “I said in the last press conference, I know what happened in the last 45 days. It’s not right if I explained. It’s not my behaviour, it is the relationship and the problem is with [between] the player and the club. And I stay inside of the club. It’s coach and club together because at the start of this season, I spoke with him many times to convince him to stay and he didn’t want to,” he said.
The Italian made it clear he will not chase a player who no longer wants to be part of the project. The line was stark, and it felt final.
“I can’t go every day to pray for him to stay,” De Zerbi concluded.
Tottenham head to Anfield without Tonali, without Porro, and without the one striker who has so often tormented Liverpool. The injuries will heal. The Richarlison question, though, now hangs over their season: is this just a messy chapter, or the moment a key forward walks away for good?
