Convincing Richarlison to join the club last summer was easy, says Everton boss

Everton manager Marco Silva has indicated that it was an easy task to convince Richarlison to join the club during the previous summer transfer window. The 22-year-old joined the Toffees after a single season in the Premier League with Watford and there were question marks whether he would be able to succeed after a disappointing second half to the 2017/2018 season.

However, he managed to prove his critics wrong with an impressive tally of 14 goals for the Toffees last term and he was mostly recently part of Brazil’s Copa America-winning side. Speaking to the club’s official website, Silva acknowledged that it was not an easy deal in terms of signing the attacker, considering the Toffees had to pay an initial £35m fee to the Hornets.

He added that he was always confident about the forward’s potential on the playing field and their close association at Watford meant that the Brazilian did not require much convincing to join the Toffees, he said: “It was not an easy deal. It was a big amount we paid to buy one player. But I knew him very well. I was with him for six months [at Watford] and for me that was enough to know his quality. It was really easy to convince him to work with us again and to join Everton.”

Richarlison has only returned to training after the Copa America exploits and Silva will be hoping to get the attacker ready for the Premier League opener against Crystal Palace. Prior to that, however, the Toffees will be aiming to reinforce the squad further and reports have claimed that the club are closing to landing the permanent signature of Moise Kean from Juventus. The 19-year-old will be expected to command a regular role upfront where the Toffees have struggled over the past few seasons.