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Exit-linked Tottenham star expected to return for pre-season double header

Originally posted on To The Lane And Back
By Rohan Sengupta | Last updated Jul 25, 2025 5:07 PM ET

Tottenham star Richarlison could feature either against Wycombe Wanderers or Luton Town on Saturday after missing the 2-0 win over Reading

Tottenham Hotspur are preparing for their summer’s second pre-season friendly against West Ham United on Saturday.

The Lilywhites beat Reading 2-0 comfortably thanks to second-half goals from Will Lankshear and Luka Vuskovic in what was new boss Thomas Frank’s first game in charge. As expected, the Danish tactician named two completely different teams in each half, providing majority of the players in his squad with minutes to regain fitness and speed.

Manor Solomon and Kota Takai missed out on the Reading game due to minor injury issues, while Thomas Frank and his coaching staff decided to build Richarlison’s fitness and not risk him. The reason behind the Brazilian not featuring in the first pre-season friendly was perhaps because the striker was in international action for Brazil until the second week of June. As a result, they decided to manage his return carefully, given his rotten injury record since joining Spurs in 2022.

Richarlison has been heavily linked with an exit from White Hart Lane this summer. The 28-year-old endured another season filled with injury problems and inconsistent displays, which has made Thomas Frank and his coaching staff difficult to fully rely on him.

Richarlison expected to get minutes against Luton Town or Wycombe Wanderers

Tottenham will face Wycombe Wanderers and Luton Town as part of their pre-season preparations. They confirmed earlier this week that the first fixture against Wycombe Wanderers, followed by a second match against another EFL League One side, Luton Town, later in the day, as Frank looks to rotate his squad well.

Spurs podcast Lilywhite Rose owner John Wenham believes Richarlison could return against either Wycombe or Luton.

“You’ve probably got Cristian Romero against one of Wycombe or Luton, Micky van de Ven with the other,” John Wenham exclusively told Tottenham News.

“You’ve probably got Pedro Porro with one, Djed Spence with one. That sort of thing. So, it is about balancing it out throughout the squad.

“We’re probably going to see Richarlison get his first minutes as well. I don’t know if that’s going to be against Wycombe or Luton. However, there’s still got to be space for the likes of Will Lankshear and Dominic Solanke.”

Tottenham must offload Richarlison this summer

Richarlison will try and participate in the upcoming pre-season friendly fixtures to get back to speed and impress our new gaffer. However, the North Londoners should still sell him.

Now he is 28 and still has a couple of years on his contract at Tottenham; this summer is the right time for the club chiefs to cash in on him. If we look at the current roster, the Lilywhites are well-stocked in attack. There is competition for spots and Frank can only rely on players who have top fitness levels, something the Brazilian striker cannot be associated with.

Frank and Levy have to be ruthless this summer and wipe out the deadwood from the squad, including Richarlison.

This article first appeared on To The Lane And Back and was syndicated with permission.

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