De Zerbi on team fitness, hunt for three points and Richarlison's future

Tottenham boss Roberto de Zerbi has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Everton at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (kick-off 17:30 BST). Here are the key lines from his news conference: James Maddison is available and Mohammed Kudus is "very close to being ready to start the game" against Everton. De Zerbi confirmed Mykhailo Mudryk is sidelined with an ankle injury he picked up in training, adding: "We need him back as soon as possible. For him, he's suffered too much, and for us because he's an important player for us." Dejan Kulusevski has not trained with the squad this week, but his set back is "not a big problem." The Spurs boss said he does not know if striker Richarlison will leave: "What l can say is that I know very well what the club has done for Richarlison, and very well what Richarlison has done for the club in the last two months. I know, he knows, the club knows, his agent knows, everyone knows - better than you [the media], much better." He said Maddison playing on the left could be "a good solution" in light of injuries, with De Zerbi adding: "He's very smart and when you play with smart players they can smell the right position." Despite only earning a point from the opening three games, De Zerbi insists they "are better than last season" and "are working well" in training. On their search for the first win of the campaign, he added: "We are not winning and we are not scoring, but I am positive because I believe in my players and this group. I am not happy because I suffer from defeats and when we don't score, but I am experienced enough to see improvement." De Zerbi said it's "not enough to say we need to win the game" against Everton because they "need to build the right way to win a game". On what that means, he explained: "We have to press, win the ball, play with courage all whilst following the plan." Listen to live commentary of Tottenham v Everton on BBC Radio 5 Live from 17:30 BST on Saturday Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news Got a question about Spurs? Get in touch here and we'll seek answers from our experts [BBC]