Richarlison's Trabzonspor move hinges on squad exit before Super Lig deadline

Richarlison’s move to Turkish side Trabzonspor hangs by a thread on Super Lig deadline day, with the deal dependent on the club first moving a foreign player out of their squad before the window closes at 11:59pm BST.

The 29-year-old Brazilian has been frozen out at Tottenham Hotspur, dropped from Roberto De Zerbi’s 25-man squad after the head coach confirmed Richarlison had “said too many times that he wants to leave.” He is currently training with Spurs’ Under-21s as he waits for a resolution.

Turkish transfer expert Yagiz Sabuncuoglu, who first reported that Richarlison had verbally agreed to join Trabzonspor, provided a critical update on Wednesday evening. “Trabzonspor will finalise the Richarlison transfer if they can send one foreign player from their squad before the transfer window closes,” he wrote on X. “Otherwise, the transfer will be cancelled.”

The path to the deal has not been straightforward. Spurs rejected a €20 million offer from Trabzonspor, and The Athletic reported that there was no guarantee the Turkish club would return with a revised bid. According to Sabuncuoglu, however, negotiations have continued to progress despite that setback.

Earlier in the week, Richarlison publicly ruled out a return to Everton after talks with his former club broke down, taking to social media to confirm the move would not happen.

Trabzonspor have been active in the transfer market as they look to challenge Galatasaray’s bid for a fifth consecutive Turkish top-flight title. They recently signed striker Franculino Dju from Danish side Midtjylland in a deal worth close to £15 million, and their attack is anchored by Mohamed Salah, who has scored three goals in three league appearances since joining the club. According to ESPN Brazil, Salah personally called Richarlison to encourage him to make the move to Turkey.

With the Super Lig deadline expiring on the evening of September 4, Trabzonspor face a race against time to clear the necessary squad space and finalise terms with Spurs before the window shuts.