BBC Sport pundit Garth Crooks has waxed lyrical about Richarlison and claimed he is “fast becoming a star” after making a huge impact since his Everton arrival.
The Merseysiders signed the Brazilian attacker for a £40million-plus fee from Watford that made him one of the most expensive captures in their history.
But former striker Crooks has been blown away by Richarlison and claimed he has reached new heights in his second season in the Premier League.
“Richarlison is clearly loving it at Goodison Park,” Crooks told the BBC Sport site as he named the Everton ace in his team of the week. “His first goal was clinical and his second majestic. He went around Lewis Dunk as though he wasn’t there.
“The Brazilian is becoming the sort of player he struggled to become at Watford. Richarlison was a good player at a good club at Vicarage Road. He’s fast becoming a star at a big club at Everton.”
OPINION
Is Richarlison the real deal? Yes. Can he be the team’s superstar in a way that the much-missed Romelu Lukaku was before his £90million transfer to Manchester United in the summer of 2017? Definitely. Richarlison is not an orthodox line-leader in the same way as the Belgian powerhouse, but is quicker, more direct and has the kind of skill that Lukaku will recognise from the likes of international teammates Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne. He has made an excellent start at Everton, with six goals from nine league matches, and has made such an impressive fist of his new centre-forward role that some are now claiming the club don’t need to splash out on a big-money January purchase in that position. What Richarlison must do next is deliver in winter in the same way as he has done in autumn. It was noticeable how his productivity rate dramatically plummeted this time last year after the clocks went back. He needs to be a man for all seasons.