On December 12th, Globo Esporte stated Fluminense have made contact with Tottenham Hotspur’s Richarlison about a move in the winter market.
Later that day, TNT Sports in Brazil reported Spurs aren’t willing to let the forward leave and he also wants to continue at the north London club.
On Friday, Radio Itatiaia reported the Brazilian club aren’t willing to give up and are planning to hold talks to sign the Tottenham player.
Fluminense president Mário Bittencourt has now revealed his side have made an approach for the 27-year-old and his comments are relayed by Globo Esporte.
The Brazil international arrived in Europe for the first time when Watford signed him from Fluminense in 2017. Bittencourt was then the vice-president at the club and has a close bond with the attacker.
Bittencourt insists Tottenham are open to offers but aren’t willing to part ways with the former Everton man, most likely in January.
“Tottenham replied that they are open to offers, but at the moment they have no interest in getting rid of the player. They are willing to listen. We’re also talking to the player to see if he’s interested in coming back,” he said.
“What is concrete is that we have expressed a formal interest in Richarlison. We know how difficult it is to bring him in.
“We believe that he may want to be close to the Brazilian national team, to return home to the club where he excelled. I have a close relationship with him. I was vice-president of football when he arrived.
“The head of scouting [Ricardo Corrêa] was the head of scouting in 2016, he was the one who recommended signing him when he was the top scorer in Série B.”
“I brought Richarlison in as vice-president of football. We’ve created a relationship, not a friendship, but a strong one. We sent a first document to the English club, still without an offer, but asking if they would like to negotiate.”
The South American club’s official remains optimistic of being successful in their efforts to bring the Spurs attacker back to the club. The president also suggested how a deal can be agreed so that it can benefit Ange Postecoglou’s side in the future.
“We’ve always been optimistic about every player we’ve thought about bringing in. Especially from a career point of view. I know they’re different situations, but Marcelo, Fred, Thiago [Silva], were acquisitions that we didn’t need to pay for. Just wages,” Bittencourt explained.
“But we believe in the Club World Cup project. Our optimism lies in offering the athlete a project in which he can recover his brilliance. His personal achievements. There are no financial negotiations in progress.”
“If there is, we have interesting assets, especially young people. That could be part of the operation. We’re not talking about any names, there’s nothing concrete, but English clubs are looking for our youngsters from time to time. We can talk about preference, priority for the future, but it’s still very embryonic.”
