Insider Dean Jones has claimed that Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte doesn't care about dropping Richarlison because the Italian is set to leave at the end of the season.
What's the latest on Richarlison, Conte and Spurs?
Following Spurs' tepid exit from the Champions League last week – losing 1-0 on aggregate to AC Milan in the last 16 – the Brazilian striker cut a frustrated figure.
Indeed, he couldn't hide his anger after the game as he delivered an explosive interview where he rubbished the club's season with some bad language and then took aim at Conte for not playing him enough.
Richarlison did then start on the weekend against Nottingham Forest and provided an assist, won a penalty and had a goal ruled out for offside as he helped Spurs win 3-1.
Despite that, Jones insisted that Conte will still prefer to start Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski over the 25-year-old Brazilian in the long term as he doesn't care to maintain a relationship due to his expected summer departure.
While speaking on Chasing Green Arrows, the insider said: "Conte obviously loves Son and Kulu, even when they're out of form, I think he puts both of those players ahead of Richarlison – that's a worry, too.
"There's clearly some conflict between them. Conte’s got no reason to give him game time because he knows he's not going to be staying beyond this season, so he don't care."
What has happened between Richarlison and Conte at Spurs?
As alluded to by Jones, Conte looks set to leave Spurs at the end of the season when his contract expires with the likes of Mauricio Pochettino, Luis Enrique, Thomas Tuchel and even Marco Silva all tipped as possible replacements.
With that in mind, the Italian won't really care about maintaining his relationship with every member of his squad and will just focus on playing the players he trusts to deliver between now and the end of the season.
And to be fair, seeing as Richarlison has yet to score a single Premier League goal this term despite playing 18 times, it's easy to see why he might prefer to start Son and Kulusevski instead as they have eight between them.
