Richarlison to Tottenham: Brazilian striker joins Spurs in club record £60 million deal with Everton

Richarlison has joined Tottenham Hotspur from Everton in what could ultimately be a club record deal worth £60 million.

Though the exact terms of the deal remain undisclosed, CBS Sports understands that Spurs have committed to paying an initial £50 million with a further £10 million in performance related add-ons that are likely to be hit, taking the deal beyond the £53.8 million signing of Tanguy Ndombele to make Richarlison the most expensive player Tottenham have bought.

Richarlison completed his medical with his new club Thursday before putting pen to paper on a contract that will run until 2027. Spurs must still secure a work permit, but that will be no issue for a player with 36 caps for Brazil.

The deal should help to ease the financial pressure at Everton, who could be able to register the deal in their 2021-22 accounts, which closed on June 30, as it was agreed several days ago even if an announcement did not come until the morning of July 1. Selling their star striker would at least serve to balance the books somewhat ahead of what is expected to be another loss-making 12 months for the Merseyside club, whose finances came under the spotlight toward the end of last season when relegation rivals Leeds United and Burnley complained to the Premier League.

Everton made pre-tax losses totalling £372 million for the three seasons prior to this one — by far the worst in the top flight — and although the Premier League relaxed their Financial Fair Play rules to reflect the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the state of finances at Goodison Park remains a matter of no little contention across the league. Richarlison signed from Watford in 2018 in a deal worth up to £50 million, signing a five-year contract. With the cost of that transfer amortized across five years of Everton’s financial reports, they should be able to book a profit of up to £50 million on his sale in their upcoming accounts.

As for Tottenham, they may believe that they have finally found the almost mythical backup to Harry Kane having cycled through the likes of Fernando Llorente, Vincent Janssen and Carlos Vinicius to little success. Richarlison is, of course, more than a mere supporting player; at Everton he formed a dangerous strike duo with Dominic Calvert-Lewin and could do the same with the England captain. To do that, however, he would have to outperform at least one of Heung-min Son and Dejan Kulusevski, two of the top performers in the second half of the last Premier League season.

Richarlison’s arrival gives Antonio Conte the depth and quality he demands as he attempts to break the Liverpool-Manchester City duopoly at the top of the Premier League while also competing in the Champions League (stream all games on Paramount+ this upcoming season). When the Brazil international returns from holidays in his homeland, he will join up with fellow summer signings Yves Bissouma, Fraser Forster and Ivan Perisic.

Spurs are also in the market for a new center back and have held talks with Barcelona over a loan deal for Clement Lenglet.

Chelsea had also held an interest in Richarlison, who scored 53 goals and provided 14 assists in 152 games for Everton, while Arsenal were linked, though their priority had always been Gabriel Jesus.