Tottenham Week in Review, Monday 19th October: Richarlison's Under-21 Appearance and De Zerbi's Injury Headaches Dominate as Spurs Chase First League Win Against Coventry
Spurs remain winless in the Premier League after six games, and that run is the backdrop to almost everything happening at the club this week ahead of the Coventry City clash (Evening Standard) (Football.London). Alan Shearer has warned that Tottenham face a "massive relegation battle" if they fail to beat Coventry, while Football365 carried similar comments from him on the summer transfer business (Spurs Web) (Football365). Robbie Fowler, by contrast, has gone against the grain with a bold prediction on where Spurs will finish this season (Spurs Web). Spurs Web also report that Spurs could face the threat of red cards in successive matches given the referee appointment, and have compiled a yellow card watch on players nearing suspension (Spurs Web) (Spurs Web).
The biggest individual story of the week concerns Richarlison, who was left out of the first-team picture and turned out for Tottenham's under-21s in their EFL Trophy defeat at Cheltenham, scoring a goal in the process (TottenhamHotspur.com) (BBC Sport). His attitude was widely praised, with ESPN describing it as "immaculate" and the Guardian and Evening Standard also running warm reaction pieces, with Richarlison himself saying "I was missing it" (ESPN) (Evening Standard) (The Guardian). Cheltenham's Cotterill added that "his attitude was great" (The Guardian). However, Football.London and Football365 report that Richarlison has since spoken out about a reported "fight" or "massive fall-out" with Roberto De Zerbi, describing a "proper scrap on training ground" and backing Duncan Ferguson's suggestion the pair had fallen out (Football.London) (Football365). De Zerbi himself has been criticised in some quarters for his treatment of the Brazilian, with Football.London reporting a "chinned him" accusation (Football.London).
On the injury front, TeamTalk detailed five Tottenham players currently sidelined, including Xavi Simons, who continues his recovery from an ACL injury with a "surprise" boost reported (TeamTalk). Sports Mole report a double injury blow involving Dejan Kulusevski and Pedro Porro ahead of Coventry (Sports Mole), though Evening Standard and Spurs Web note Porro has posted an encouraging recovery update on social media (Spurs Web). Kulusevski, meanwhile, looks set to return to the matchday squad for the first time in around a year and a half, with Tottenham's official site confirming he is back on the bench against Coventry and De Zerbi revealing his reaction to the news (Evening Standard) (TottenhamHotspur.com). De Zerbi also confirmed "No Savio" among a fresh double injury blow, while Football.London's press conference coverage touched on Porro, Kulusevski, Bergvall and Richarlison (Spurs Web) (Football.London). There is continued frustration over James Maddison's fitness, with Spurs Web reporting on what the club are thinking about his future amid repeated setbacks (Spurs Web), though Spurs Web also say he could return for the Coventry game (Spurs Web) (Sports Mole).
Away from injuries, the squad travelled to Marbella for a mid-season training camp, with Steven Gerrard issuing an "ominous" warning about the risks of such a trip and De Zerbi later describing the camp as producing "a stronger group" (Football.London) (Spurs Web) (Football.London). Tottenham's official site shared gallery images from the training camp (TottenhamHotspur.com). Two academy midfielders, Tyrese Hall and Tye Hall, impressed enough to be included in the trip, boosting their first-team hopes according to the Evening Standard (Evening Standard).
In transfer and squad news, Pedro Porro is reported by Football365 to have chosen between Barcelona and Real Madrid amid speculation he wants to leave, while Spurs Web separately covered his price tag as part of a wider transfer update involving a possible Atletico raid (Football365) (Spurs Web). Tottenham are also linked with Club Brugge striker Nicolo Tresoldi, though Arsenal are reported as front-runners and could hijack any move (TeamTalk) (Spurs Web). Elsewhere, Spurs Web report interest in Alex Scott, who could be available for less than expected in January, and note Juventus want to sign a third Tottenham player on loan in the same window, with Lucas Bergvall's situation highlighted (Spurs Web) (Spurs Web). There are also reports Tottenham are considering sending young Luca Williams-Barnett out on loan in January (Spurs Web), while Troy Parrott's name has resurfaced in links with a Premier League return involving Spurs or Manchester United (Spurs Web). On departed players, Darren Bent has accused Tottenham of "big club snobbery" over letting Will Lankshear leave for Middlesbrough, and Spurs Web and TeamTalk both report the club lack a buy-back clause that would ease any potential return (talkSPORT) (TeamTalk) (Spurs Web). Pape Sarr's move to Juventus is also discussed as a deal Spurs "may have accidentally" got wrong, given his impact there (Spurs Web).
In boardroom news, TeamTalk report that the Lewis family have further increased their stake in the club following a £320million investment, continuing to reduce former chairman Daniel Levy's influence (TeamTalk). Separately, Thomas Frank has been linked with a Premier League return eight months after his Tottenham sacking, with The Sun and Football.London reporting interest from Fulham amid Alvaro Arbeloa's struggles there, and Express noting he could alternatively be replaced in a vacancy by a BBC pundit (The Sun) (Express) (Football.London).
On loan, Mikey Moore says it will be a "massive idol" moment to face Harry Kane during his loan spell at Cologne, as covered by Spurs Web and BBC Sport (Spurs Web) (BBC Sport). Mykhailo Mudryk, on loan at Shakhtar Donetsk, has been spotted back in training with parent club Chelsea during his own injury layoff, with Spurs Web separately reporting his return to full fitness may not be as close as hoped (Evening Standard) (Spurs Web). Football.London's weekly loan round-up also highlighted a wonder goal from a forgotten Tottenham loanee and a stunning strike from Jamie Donley, alongside struggles for Elkan Baggott... sorry, for Souza (Football.London).
In the women's game, Tottenham's official site previewed the WSL Fantasy Gameweek 6 and shared presser points ahead of the Women's Super League trip to face Chelsea (TottenhamHotspur.com) (TottenhamHotspur.com). The club also confirmed Women's Under-19s PGA League fixtures for the rest of the 2026/27 campaign (TottenhamHotspur.com).
Finally, Tottenham's Under-21s suffered late heartbreak in their defeat at Cheltenham before bouncing back to return to the top of PL2 with a win over Leicester (TottenhamHotspur.com) (TottenhamHotspur.com).
This round-up is written with the help of AI, using only the day's headlines from the publishers credited above. Each point links to the original report — tap the source name to read it in full.