English football legend Alan Shearer believes that Richarlison, who has been excluded from Tottenham's Premier League squad, will become a headache for De Zerbi.

To comply with Premier League squad registration rules, Tottenham had to leave out a foreign player from their squad, and De Zerbi ultimately chose to exclude Richarlison. The 29-year-old Brazilian rejected transfer offers from Everton and Vasco da Gama last month. He was then excluded from Tottenham's 3-1 League Cup defeat to Liverpool, despite being eligible to play in the competition. Richarlison subsequently questioned the decision on social media with a single "Why?"

Shearer told Betfair: "Richarlison is not in the squad, and De Zerbi has said he won't use him, so there's no way back, no escape route. He's made his decision and he's sticking to it. What happens now, I don't know. You have a player who isn't in the squad, but clearly you still have to pay his wages, and he will become a problem. I don't think he's going to sit quietly."

Shearer continued: "When your team isn't scoring, isn't winning, and on top of everything else you have this situation, it's just another problem a manager doesn't want to face. But for whatever reason, De Zerbi has decided Richarlison doesn't deserve to be in the squad."

"It's clear that Richarlison has fallen out with the manager, the manager doesn't like him, and he doesn't like the manager either. That's not a healthy situation for any club."

Tottenham have failed to win any of their first four Premier League matches this season and have also failed to score. They will host Aston Villa on Saturday, and Unai Emery's side have also yet to secure their first league win of the season.

On De Zerbi's situation, Shearer said: "De Zerbi desperately needs a good result. After keeping the team up last season, he clearly received the backing he wanted, and the club agreed to let him bring in the players he wanted regardless of cost. I've said this before and I'll say it again—they've paid way too much for some of these new signings, and those signings haven't worked out."

"Some of his comments about players' fitness have been hard to understand, so he really needs a good result and a goal. The longer this goes on, the harder it will become."

"Tottenham's board now wants to see a return on their investment. With so much money spent, results need to come as soon as possible. The longer this drags on, the more urgent the situation becomes. They're under enormous pressure, make no mistake about that."

"Right now, I haven't seen any positive signs to justify these investments. They haven't scored in the Premier League, and they haven't won a match. I don't expect Tottenham to qualify for the Champions League, but I think they should be challenging for 6th or 7th place. But so far, I haven't seen any signs they can even achieve that."

Shearer added: "This weekend's match against Villa will be a tough test. Villa are also struggling in the league, but they've had good results in the Champions League. Tottenham have played poorly so far. From what I've seen, I'm not optimistic they'll turn things around quickly."

"If Tottenham can't get a good result, the three-week international break coming up will feel like three months. So both teams need a good result on Saturday, but especially Tottenham. Tottenham's performances haven't been good enough, and they haven't created enough chances. I've seen them miss one or two opportunities, but that's not enough."

"I know they've signed Savinho and Marmoush. The Richarlison issue won't disappear, and I don't see any signs the situation will improve. I saw Marmoush miss a few chances, but that's a positive sign because as long as they keep creating opportunities, things can change. However, the longer this goes on, the harder it will get. Tottenham aren't dominating their opponents, and they can't explain their current situation by saying they've been unlucky."

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