Antonio Conte gave nothing away when asked if Richarlison would start for Tottenham Hotspur against West Ham on Wednesday night.
The Brazilian forward made the switch from Everton to Spurs over the summer for £60million after spending four years at Goodison Park and a season at Watford.
Prior to the London derby, the attacker has only appeared off the bench in the team's opening four games including the 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest on Sunday which saw him come in for criticism from a section of fans and media for juggling the ball at the end of the game.
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As the 25-year-old gets settled into life in north London, the former Chelsea boss gave an answer which seemed to suggest that Richarlison would start one of Spurs next few games but would not confirm whether or not it would be the West Ham fixture.
"No I didn't say this," Conte replied when asked if Richalison would start. "I said probably in the future you can see in the starting XI Richarlison. Then if the game against West Ham, Fulham or Marseille. Then I have to decide."
The Italian went on to clarify when a follow up question was asked whether Conte meant starting this week against the Hammers.
"Not specifically."
Tottenham will be without Bryan Gil and Lucas Moura, though Cristian Romero and Oliver Skipp could feature on Wednesday night for the Lilywhites.
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