Attacker | Everton | Brazil

Skinny

When Richarlison arrived at Watford in August 2017, there weren’t many Premier League fans who knew much about him but it didn’t take long for the forward to make himself known. His first six months under Marco Silva at Watford were explosive and it was clear the £12million Watford paid for him was something akin to daylight robbery - indeed, that heist was to prove extremely profitable business just 12 months later.

There isn’t a great deal Richarlison isn’t good at right now. As a right-footed player who tends to be deployed on the left, he enjoys cutting inside and combining with his attacking teammates. His explosive pace, flair, dribbling ability and impressive aerial threat make him a incredible asset to have and when on form, unplayable in front of goal and down the flanks. A complete all-rounder, you could say. 

Towards the end of his Watford career he did show some signs of inconsistency, though, and that tied in almost identically with Marco Silva’s departure from Watford, which he did hint he was unhappy with. Every single one of his five goals and five assists came before his mentor was sacked and, after that, he just wasn’t the same.

2018 has been…

… a year of two halves. As mentioned above, following Watford’s decision to sack Marco Silva in January Richarlison just downed tools. He featured in every game Watford played after that but he wasn’t nearly enough effective and he failed to register a single goal or assist after the turn of the year. 

Despite this, January brought a number of links to some of Europe’s clubs. Juventus, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Man United were all tipped to make a move for the Brazilian, but Everton came out of nowhere in the summer to reunite him with Marco Silva at Goodison Park. As expected, Richarlison has been a much happier player ever since.

Three goals in his opening two Premier League games for Everton had us all swooning over this outrageous talent once more, until he was sent off for a head butt at Bournemouth, showing his immaturity and unpredictable temperament.

Since his mega £50m switch to Everton he’s managed eight goals and one assist in 14 Premier League games, including a goal against former club Watford, which he unsurprisingly celebrated more than we’ve seen him celebrate a goal in England before.

His form since arriving in England has unsurprisingly led to him becoming an important part of the Brazil national team - six caps and three international goals is pretty impressive for a youngster fitting in to a Brazil side overflowing with talent. 

What’s next?

It does seem as though he’s only willing to play club football under Marco Silva so for as long as the Portuguese remains at Goodison Park then we should expect Richarlison to grow in to one of the Premier League’s most deadly attackers.

However, despite all his talent he is still a player yet to convince everyone of his overall ability and he must prove he can perform consistently for more than just six months before he is accepted as a young player destined for the top.

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