This Everton player has the potential to become a hero on Merseyside – opinion

Have you ever seen a player smile as little as Everton’s Richarlison? He has scored 22 Premier League goals since arriving at Everton and it is hard to remember if he has ever smiled during a celebration.

This won’t matter much for Everton fans as long as he continues to pop up at key times for the Blues. He was Everton’s top scorer last season finding the net 13 times and it is fair to say that the £50m signing is looking increasingly impressive on Merseyside.

The man who keeps improving

Richarlison has always looked good at Everton. Since Marco Silva brought him to English football, he has been very impressive and the Portuguese manager liked him enough to bring him to Merseyside following on in his footsteps. In his 14 games this season, he has scored six times nearly reaching half his tally from last year already.

If he continues to play the way he does, he is set to pass that record and wherever he plays for Silva, whether that be on the wing or as a lone striker, he is never too far from contributing.

He also has seven Premier League assists to his name and in terms of goal involvement, the only player for Everton who is close to him is Gylfi Sigurdsson, who was joint top with Richarlison in goals scored last season.

Key man for Everton’s future

Everton are in very uncertain times but there are some players who still continue to perform. While there isn’t much to smile about sitting in the bottom half of the table, he is a player who is key to Everton’s future plans.

He has signed a contract until 2024 in Merseyside, committing his future to the Toffees and Goodison Park. He is continuing to develop yet does have parts of his game which can be improved.

He has been known to go quiet when defences get physical early but it’s his moments of brilliance that make him a game-changer and someone who has to be on the pitch. His goal against Leicester was an example of this. He wandered into the box unnoticed and quickly darted in front of Ricardo to nod the ball past Kasper Schmeichel to break the deadlock.

A bright future ahead

Richarlison has the potential to become an Everton hero. He loves the club and the fans love him and now he has extended his contract to 2024, he has plenty of time to put his name down in Everton history. While he does this he will still probably never smile, but it’s likely to be of little concern if he continues to deliver for the Toffees whilst repaying his £50m price-tag.