Tottenham risk angering Richarlison with Levy ‘interested’ in Okafor

Richarlison’s troubled spell at Tottenham could get a whole lot worse if he sticks around in the summer, with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy reportedly interested in signing Red Bull Salzburg forward Noah Okafor in a move that would provide fresh competition for the Brazilian.

Since completing his £60million switch from Everton last summer, Richarlison has started just nine Premier League games. None of his 19 top-flight appearances this term have yielded a goal amid a backdrop of unrest under Antonio Conte. 

A rift broke out earlier this month when Richarlison admitted that his first season in north London had been ‘s***‘. Conte agreed but gave the 25-year-old a start against Nottingham Forest just a few days later, during which he impressed in a 3-1 victory.

Still, the last thing Richarlison needs at Tottenham is new competition, with the established attacking trio of Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski already making first-team minutes hard to come by.

But Sky Germany claim that Levy is ‘very interested’ in Okafor, who has bagged 11 goals for club and country so far this campaign. The report adds that inquiries have already been made to RB Salzburg, who have had the player since 2020. 

Okafor made his senior breakthrough with Basel and made his Switzerland debut as a teenager, racking up 12 international caps to date. Having banked valuable experience in Austria, the 22-year-old appears to be getting better with age and he is on course to beat his career-best goals total this term.

“The [players] don’t want to play under pressure, they don’t want to play under stress,” Conte told Sky Sports. “It is easy in this way. Tottenham’s story is this. Twenty years there is the owner and they never won something but why? The fault is only for the club, or for every manager that stays here.

“Until now I try to hide the situation but now, no, because I repeat, I don’t want to see what I have seen today because this is unacceptable and also unacceptable for the fans.”