Tottenham may have saved as much as £20million on star striker Richarlison following his transfer from Everton as finance documents surrounding his former team show. The Brazilian joined Spurs for a deal worth up to £60million last summer, hopeful of bolstering their depth up front.
Playing behind a front three of Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski meant there were very few chances for him to make an impact. In 27 Premier League appearances last season, the 26-year-old scored just once and had three assists to his name as the side fell flat.
A shuffle in the managerial ranks saw Ange Postecoglou join the club, while Kane would move on to pastures new with Bayern Munich. It offered a chance on both fronts to stake a claim in the team and while he has already matched last campaign's goal tally, the struggles have continued.
On top of that is an injury issue that will keep the forward out until December, impacting an already depleted squad at a busy time. There will be hopes that Richarlison can return to the form that saw him impress with Watford and then Everton, where confidence was free-flowing.
The latter of those two clubs were hopeful that the sale of their star striker would help keep them clear of any financial difficulties. However, it appears as though it hasn't quite gone to plan after the Premier League charged Everton with a breach of regulations, sending them to an independent commission.
READ MORE: Why Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham wait on Man City point deduction outcome amid Everton move
READ MORE: Tottenham's Emerson Royal has Brazil night to forget as Luis Diaz shines in emotional display
A ground-breaking case for the division in the modern era, the verdict returned in mid-November that the club would be hit with a 10-point deduction. That is subject to an appeal process, with the Toffees hitting back in a club statement that claims they were "shocked" by the outcome and the scale of punishment.
In the written reasoning from the panel, it goes into great depth on the financial position the Merseyside outfit found itself in over the past few years. One of which details how a much bigger fee was expected for Richarlison, saying: "Everton considered that the sale on 30 June 2022 of Mr Richarlison to Tottenham Hotspur FC for the sum of £60million, rather than the sum of £80million that it had budgeted to receive, to be directly attributable to its PSR calculation difficulties."
It suggests that the sale was expected to cost a whole £20million more for Spurs, with the side bagging something of a bargain on that price tag in the end.
