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Tottenham star Richarlison to come face to face with player he'll 'refuse' handshake from
Tottenham face West Ham United in the Premier League on Tuesday evening.
Tottenham forward Richarlison could face Michail Antonio on Tuesday night for the first time since the West Ham striker took a public swipe at his poor goals return last season. Lucas Paqueta, who has shared a dressing room with both players, allegedly insists that his countryman Richarlison has no intention of shaking hands with Antonio before the match.
Last may, when Richarlison was coming to the end of a difficult first season in north London, Antonio and Newcastle United striker Callum Wilson poked fun at the Spurs man on the Footballer's Football Podcast.
"He's scored four times this season. Three of the times he has been offside," joked Antonio. "He has taken his top off four times this season." The 34-year-old added in a later episode of his and Wilson's podcast that Tottenham 'need a new striker'.
Having spoken to fellow West Ham star Paqueta, who counts Richarlison among his international team-mates, Antonio claimed that the Tottenham man had taken his comments to heart.
"I have gone to Paqueta," he revealed. "They play with each other. I have said 'What’s wrong with your boy? It’s a bit of banter. I don’t understand why he is taking it so personally', to the stage where his manager [Ryan Mason] had to talk.
"Lucas is like 'It’s just how he is, Mickey. I told him that’s how you are. But he says 'No, no, no. When we play against them I am not going to shake his hand'."
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Spurs hosted West Ham in the Premier League last December, several months after the comments were made, but neither Richarlison nor Antonio made the starting line-ups. Both players are in with a shout of featuring at the London Stadium on Tuesday evening.
Antonio is a shoo-in to play up front for the Hammers after scoring in back-to-back Premier League games. Richarlison has not started since February 17 due to a knee issue, but with two substitute appearances under his belt, the Brazilian is approaching full fitness under Ange Postecoglou.
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Richarlison recently teared up in an interview discussing how difficult his debut campaign at Tottenham truly was, but he has since transformed into one of the club's most important attackers. In Spurs' ranks, only Son Heung-min (15) has notched more than his 10 Premier League goals this term.
The north Londoners are well-placed to seal one of five Champions League qualification spots, sitting eight points in front of sixth-place Manchester United ahead of their meeting with West Ham.