Former Chelsea defender Thiago Silva has poured cold water on the prospect of Tottenham forward Richarlison joining him at Fluminense in the January transfer window. Amid the Brazilian's struggles at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium since his move from Everton in the summer of 2022, the 27-year-old has been linked with a return to his homeland.

Richarlison has endured an injury-hit season to date, making just seven appearances for Ange Postecoglou's Spurs side, but he could soon make his return in the first week of the new year. Once he is back to full fitness, Tottenham will be hoping to get a sustained run of games out of the attacker to help ease the load on Dominic Solanke's shoulders up front.

Thiago Silva, who returned to Fluminense earlier this summer, believes that Richarlison could pull on the Tricolor shirt once again but he has made it clear that Tottenham's No.9 still has "a very big future ahead of him in Europe".

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“Maybe in the future he could come back," he said in an interview with CNN Brasil, as reported by Sport Witness. "Richarlison has a very big future ahead of him in Europe. Of course, if he decides to come to Fluminense, he’ll be welcome.

"He’s going through a difficult time in his career, with injury after injury. But he’s a very good kid. I’m sure it will turn things around and there’s still a lot to do in Europe."

Fluminense are certainly interested in luring Richarlison back to the Maracana, with club president Mario Bittencourt last week revealing that his side have made an approach for the Brazil international.

“Tottenham replied that they are open to offers, but at the moment they have no interest in getting rid of the player. They are willing to listen. We’re also talking to the player to see if he’s interested in coming back,” he explained (via Sport Witness).

"What is concrete is that we have expressed a formal interest in Richarlison. We know how difficult it is to bring him in. We believe that he may want to be close to the Brazilian national team, to return home to the club where he excelled. I have a close relationship with him. I was vice-president of football when he arrived.

“The head of scouting [Ricardo Correa] was the head of scouting in 2016, he was the one who recommended signing him when he was the top scorer in Serie B. I brought Richarlison in as vice-president of football. We’ve created a relationship, not a friendship, but a strong one. We sent a first document to the English club, still without an offer, but asking if they would like to negotiate.”

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