Everton boss Marco Silva will reportedly be denied the chance the raid his former Premier League employers Watford to sign Richarlison this summer.
The relationship between Everton and Watford is still as frosty as ever, five months after Marco Silva was sacked by the Hornets after allegedly being unsettled by an approach from the Toffees.
Everton finally got their man in the end, appointing Silva as the successor to Sam Allardyce last week. But, according to the Mirror, he will be denied the chance to link up with his former Watford talisman this summer.
It is understood that Watford will refuse to do any business with Everton and have informed the Merseysiders that there is no chance the £40 million-rated Richarlison will be allowed to move to Goodison Park.
But this is not necessarily a blow. Because while Richarlison is a man Silva knows well – the 40-year-old was key to his arrival from Fluminense last summer – the young Brazilian has a long way to go before that £40 million looks like good value.
The 21-year-old was a revelation in his first few months in English football, scoring against Liverpool while terrorising Chelsea and Arsenal. But that gave way to a prolonged barren run during which he failed to find the net in his last 27 games of the season.
Quick, versatile and aggressive, Richarlison is one of the most talented youngsters in the Premier League but you get the feeling that a mega-money move to Everton would come far too soon.
So Toffees fans should not lose too much sleep over Watford’s hard-nosed stance.
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