Troy Deeney has now told Richarlison to ‘keep quiet’ after the Tottenham Hotspur forward’s interview questioning Antonio Conte. He hit out at the manager about his lack of game time.
The 25-year-old has only enjoyed a bit-part presence in north London since his arrival back in July. Spurs spent an initial £50m, up to £60m with add-ons, to sign Richarlison and gave the Brazilian a five-year contract. Yet he has only started in 12 of his 25 games under Conte.
Richarlison has further only started seven of an available 18 Premier League games beside 10 appearances as a substitute. He has missed seven games since joining from Everton last summer due to injury. The attacker has suffered with calf and hamstring problems this term.
Yet Richarlison appeared to have turned a corner at the start of February after Conte started him as Tottenham beat West Ham United and Chelsea in the Premier League. But the Italian benched him at Wolves and their Champions League last 16 second leg tie with AC Milan.
What did Richarlison say about Antonio Conte in the interview?
Missing out on a starting role versus the Rossoneri angered the forward. Richarlison vented his irritation in an interview with TNT Sports after the tie, in which he questioned Conte for his lack of game time for Tottenham after the recent starts. The Brazilian claimed, via ESPN:
“[Conte naming me as a substitute is] what I don’t understand. It was going well. Two wins against West Ham and Chelsea. Suddenly, he put me on the bench against Wolves. He put me on for five minutes. I asked why, they didn’t tell me anything.
“Yesterday, they asked me to take a test at the gym, that if I was good I would go to the game and, at the time of the game, they left me on the bench. These are things that it is not possible to understand. Let’s see what he will say tomorrow.”
Troy Deeney urges Richarlison to ‘keep quiet’ and show his worth at Tottenham
Conte responded to Richarlison’s interview questioning the Tottenham boss by branding the Brazilian as ‘selfish’. The Italian also added that the forward had apologised for the remarks. But Deeney – a former Watford teammate of Richarlison – wants to see action on the pitch.
“I like Richarlison but I didn’t want to hear him moaning about a lack of game time after the Milan match,” Deeney admitted in his column for The Sun. “He hasn’t scored in the Premier League all season. He needs to keep quiet, knuckle down and get some work done.”
Richarlison has two goals and three assists so far in his 25 appearances in all competitions under Conte for Tottenham. He hit home both goals in Spurs’ 2-0 win over Marseille in their opening Group D tie in the Champions League. OM visited north London on September 7.
Each of Richarlison’s assists, meanwhile, have come in his 17 Premier League outings. Yet he penned each assist one at a time at Nottingham Forest on August 28, against Fulham on September 3 and at Arsenal on October 1. He has featured in 10 fixtures without any since.
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