Richarlison looks set to be the latest big-name Premier League star to join the Turkish Super Lig.
The Tottenham Hotspur striker is wanted by Mohamed Salah's club Trabzonspor, with the deadline to complete the deal this Friday.
Spurs have already rejected bids of £15 million and £20 million as they hold out for a higher fee, according to several British news outlets. It is understood the player has agreed personal terms with Trabzonspor, with some reports suggesting he will triple his salary.
Spurs boss Roberto De Zerbi said on Saturday after his team’s home loss to Newcastle that Richarlison had requested to leave “too many times” this summer.
He appeared set to rejoin former club Everton on Tuesday before the Premier League's transfer deadline, but negotiations broke down.
Spurs currently have 18 senior non-homegrown players on their books including Richarlison, one more than the number permitted in a Premier League squad.
The Brazilian posted an emotional message on Monday, essentially saying he would not be forced into a move away from the club. The 29-year-old has entered the final year of his contract.
"After everything I’ve been through in recent years, I decided that they would never again decide my future for me," Richarlison said in a statement.
"I’ve been through a lot of bad things these days and almost all of them happened because of decisions made by other people.
"Pressure, threats, retaliations, none of this scares me. I’ve been through worse things ... believe me!
"I have always made it clear, at every opportunity, that an exit of mine to another place would also have to be good for the club. If it wasn’t, I would never accept ... as I didn’t accept when everything here was falling apart and they needed me. I stayed and gave my life.
"So, I hope you treat my situation with the same respect that I always had for Spurs and for all the people who worked with me during this period. Just don’t want to decide for me.“
Richarlison finished last season as Spurs' top scorer with 12 goals across competitions as they narrowly avoided relegation on the final day of the season.
It was Tottenham's second successive 17th-place finish, although they did win the 2024/25 Europa League, with Richarlison an integral part of the squad.
Spurs have begun the new season badly, losing their first two Premier League matches.
Richarlison started in the 3-0 defeat to Brentford but was left out of the matchday squad for the 2-0 loss to Newcastle United.
He moved to Spurs from Everton in July 2022 in a deal worth a potential £60 million, including add-ons. In all he has scored 32 goals for Tottenham, with 27 of them coming in the Premier League.
Trabzonspor coach U-turn
Trabzonspor are searching for a new coach after a sensational U-turn saw them accept Fatih Tekke's resignation a week after rejecting it.
Tekke initially offered to step down following last week's 5-0 aggregate defeat to Ferencvaros that saw the Turkish club miss out on a place in the Europa League group phase. Trabzonspor were relegated to the Conference League instead.
The club refused to accept Tekke's resignation, saying the coach had acted under the "intense emotional impact" of the Ferencvaros defeat.
However, the club have now changed tack and have agreed to part ways with Tekke, who led Trabzonspor to a third‑place finish in the Super Lig last season and won the Turkish Cup.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Trabzonspor said it reached a “mutual understanding” with Tekke and decided to part ways “in line with Trabzonspor’s interests and long‑term objectives”.
It follows an indifferent start to the new season for the Turkish club.
Hopes were high after a summer in which Trabzonspor pulled off a major coup in recruiting Egyptian World Cup star Salah.
The 34-year-old signed on a two-year contract after bringing down the curtain on nine trophy-filled years at Liverpool.
Others followed, with Salah's former Liverpool teammate Fabinho joining from Saudi club Al Ittihad.
However, Trabzonspor have a win, a draw and a defeat from their first three league games and also missed out on the Europa League.
Salah has scored three times in as many Super Lig matches.
