Why Everton’s new deal for Richarlison is a much-needed positive step

According to the Daily Mail, Everton have announced that Richarlison has signed a new contract that will keep him at the club till 2024.

The Brazilian winger had joined the Toffees last year from Watford for a deal said to be around £40million.

Since then, the 22-year old has appeared in 54 games across all competitions and scored 20 goals for Everton.

Richarlison has followed current Everton boss Marco Silva, under whom he excelled at Watford in his first season on English soil.

The versatile winger once again repaid his manager’s faith by putting up a scintillating display in his debut season with the Toffees.

He was Everton’s top goalscorer that season, with 13 goals from 35 league appearances, helping them finish eighth in the table.

However, it has not been the smoothest of rides for both Richarlison and Silva, unlike last year. The Toffees are staring at doom, with the club just two points adrift of the relegation zone, at 17^th place.

It has been one of the worst starts for the Merseyside club in recent times, having managed just 4 wins out of 14 league games so far.

The shooting boots seem to be missing for the Everton attackers, with the side scoring a mere 14 goals till now.

With Richarlison clearly dominating the goal-scorers’ chart consistently for the last two seasons, it is a clear reflection of the Brazilian’s goal-scoring prowess.

A versatile player, Richarlison mostly played on the flanks for his former side Watford.  

However, being a clinical finisher, the Brazilian has been moved to a central role in recent times under Silva. Since arriving at Goodison Park, the 22-year old has played 16 games as a striker and has found the back of the net 5 times.

Richarlison, who made his debut for the Selecao in September last year, has since scored 6 goals from 17 matches, so far.

Considered as one of the top talents in Europe, Richarlison was included in Brazil’s squad for the Copa America earlier this year, which they ultimately won 3-1, defeating Peru in the final.

Predominantly an attacker, few would expect a player of Richarlison’s mould to offer defensive contributions to a side. However, his statistics give us a totally different picture, with the forward registering 2.8 tackles per game, according to Whoscored.

This speaks volumes about the Brazilian’s overall contribution to a team and thus makes him an inevitable member of any squad.

Verdict

His consistent displays as a goal-scorer for Everton surely makes him one of the key players to feature in the squad.

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Moreover, his versatility in the attack offers the manager with the freedom to position him in accordance with the requirements of the game. Hence, Everton offering the Brazilian a new deal is, by all means, a purely favourable one for the club and player alike.