Cheltenham boss Steve Cotterill has revealed why Richarlison impressed him on Tuesday night, with the Brazil star featuring for Tottenham U21s

Richarlison has been praised for his "immaculate" attitude after the Brazil international featured for Tottenham U21s on Tuesday night.

The 29-year-old was left out of the club’s 25-man Premier League squad list by Roberto De Zerbi and has not played for Spurs’ senior side since an opening-day defeat at Brentford on August 22. Despite talks with Everton, Trabzonspor and Vasco da Gama over an exit, Richarlison ended up staying in north London which has ultimately left him in limbo for the first half of the campaign.

It was a huge surprise on Tuesday night, then, when Richarlison was named on the teamsheet for the Tottenham under-21s as Wayne Burnett's side took on Cheltenham in the Jersey Mike's Trophy. The striker scored after 56 minutes in a 2-2 draw and converted a spot-kick in a 7-6 penalty shootout-out loss for Burnett’s side but it was his conduct off the pitch which caught the eye at The EV Charger Points Stadium.

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Spurs' forgotten man took time to sign autographs and posed for pictures with fans. He also shook the hand of Cheltenham’s young goalkeeper Mamadou Diallo after his successful penalty to leave a positive impression on Robins boss Steve Cotterill.

Cotterill, as quoted by Gloucestershire Live, said: “No, we weren’t expecting it, but it was good. When I found out he was on the team sheet, I was actually chuffed with that. I was really pleased. It gives our lads a glimpse of what it’s like at that top level.

“To be fair to him, with a lot of talk about our lads playing against him, Richarlison’s attitude was immaculate tonight. He was really, really good and his attitude was great.

“He could have easily come down here and thought, ‘I am not too bothered about tonight,’ We had a decent crowd here, but he’s used to playing in front of 60,000 every week – when he gets picked anyway!

“But I thought his attitude tonight was first-class. It was great for our lads to play against someone of his stature. It’s good and I really enjoyed tonight.”

De Zerbi and the rest of the Spurs squad are currently in Marbella for warm weather training and all eyes will be on whether Richarlsion plays again for the under-21s on Sunday at home to Leicester.