Less than four years after representing Brazil at the 2022 World Cup, Richarlison's downward spiral at Tottenham was laid bare as he scored in front of a couple of hundred supporters for the under-21s against Cheltenham Town in the EFL Trophy.

The Brazilian, who cost Spurs £60m from Everton and was rubbing shoulders with Neymar Jr and Vinicius Jr on international duty not so long ago, looked almost embarrassed to celebrate his thumping half-volley against the League Two outfit.

He also notched a penalty in a shootout that Spurs' reserves lost 7-6 after a 2-2 draw.

Richarlison, 29, was making only his second appearance of the season, and his first since the end of August against Brentford, having been left out of Tottenham's Premier League squad.

Manager Roberto de Zerbi insisted the decision to omit him from the club's 25-man squad in September was not his, following the forward's failed move back to Merseyside at the end of the transfer window.

With just three goals, Spurs are the top-flight's lowest scorers this season and second bottom in the table. So the decision to leave last season's 12-goal leading scorer out of their league plans looks increasingly difficult to justify.

For a couple of hours on transfer deadline day, it seemed only a matter of time before Richarlison left Tottenham.

He was closing in on an idyllic return to Everton, more than four years after swapping Merseyside for North London.

From a tactical formation and squad depth perspective, "Goal crisis & in drop zone - so why is Spurs' £60m striker stuck in U21s?" carries substantial tournament implications for international seeding and domestic campaign momentum. Coaching staffs are heavily weighing high-pressing efficiency (PPDA), defensive transition pace, and fixture fatigue management.

Tactical analysts monitoring Champions League metrics emphasize that squad adaptability and set-piece execution will likely dictate outcomes in high-leverage knockout environments. Real-time match telemetry and tracking data continue to inform managerial decision-making.

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