Everton face a reunion with Richarlison when they visit Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. So, where are the players who made up their XI on the Brazilian’s Toffees debut in 2018 now?
Marco Silva broke the bank to get Richarlison to Goodison Park in July 2018 after returning to raid Watford. The Portuguese tactician paid his former team an initial £35m, rising up to £50m, for a then 21-year-old forward. The clauses could make his move a club-record deal.
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Richarlison would go on to score 53 goals and lay on 14 assists over 152 appearances in all competitions at Everton. The Nova Venecia native also made his Brazil debut in September 2018. He is now a 37-cap international who cost Tottenham an initial £50m to sign in July.
Richarlison has enjoyed a steady start at Tottenham since leaving Everton
Antonio Conte lured Richarlison to north London after Tottenham agreed a deal worth up to £60m with Everton. Spurs also handed the 25-year-old a five-year contract after fending off a rival bid from Chelsea. The Guardian noted the Blues did not match Everton’s demands.
Richarlison has enjoyed a steady start to the former Everton talisman’s time at Tottenham. The attacker has only started three of his eight Premier League appearances under Conte. Yet he boasts three assists, while scoring twice across four starts in the Champions League.
The striker-cum-winger has only failed to feature under Conte once while he served a one-game ban on the opening day. The Football Association suspended Richarlison and issued a fine of £25k in July after he threw a flare into the crowd as Everton beat Chelsea in May.
A reunion with Everton could be emotional for Richarlison at Tottenham
Now, Richarlison is preparing for a potentially emotional reunion with Everton when Frank Lampard’s side visit Tottenham on Saturday. The Brazilian told FourFourTwo in September that he still greatly appreciates the Toffees, but felt the club had started to lack ambition.
“It’s always a tough call when you have such strong connections with your club, and that was definitely the case for me,” Richarlison said. “I was happy at Everton and I’m grateful for everything I learned there. It’s a big club with a lot of history.
“However, perhaps they’re suffering with a lack of ambition nowadays. You know, that eagerness to win matches and trophies. I spent four years there and I could see there was still a very long way to go to achieve big things.”
So, with a reunion on the cards when Everton travel to Tottenham, HITC Football has taken a look back at Silva’s XI from Richarlison’s debut as the Toffees drew 2-2 away to Wolves…
Jordan Pickford (GK): The England No.1 started in Richarlison’s Everton debut
Jordan Pickford started in goal for Everton as Richarlison made his debut in Silva’s XI away at Molineux. But the England No.1 could not keep a clean sheet in the West Midlands after goals by Ruben Neves and Raul Jimenez. They both scored replies to Richarlison’s brace.
Seamus Coleman (RB): The Everton skipper was still their first choice in 2018/19
Seamus Coleman is now Everton’s captain but has only played two Premier League games this season. He has opened their past two fixtures with Nathan Patterson sidelined with an ankle injury. But Coleman was the Toffees’ first choice in 2018/19 with 29 league matches.
Michael Keane (CB): Silva’s starting defender is only Lampard’s backup option
Michael Keane was often one of the first names on the Everton teamsheet under Silva. But the £30m former Burnley ace is now only a backup under Lampard with just one top-flight game this term. He played the final 22 minutes of their 1-1 draw with Brentford in August.
Phil Jagielka (CB): The Everton captain was sent off during Richarlison’s debut
Phil Jagielka captained the Everton XI as now-Tottenham ace Richarlison made his debut at Wolves in 2018. But the centre-back would only play for the first 40 minutes before referee Craig Pawson issued him a straight red. He sent him off for a dangerous foul on Diogo Jota.
Neves scored from the resulting free-kick to pull Wolves level after Richarlison had broken the deadlock. Jagielka, meanwhile, would only go on to feature in six further league games in 2018/19. Everton would release the 40-cap England international after 12 years in 2019.
Jagielka returned to Sheffield United as a free agent on his departure from Goodison after 385 games in all competitions. He spent two years back at Bramall Lane following an initial spell from 1998 to 2007. He later joined Derby County before joining Stoke City in January.
Leighton Baines (LB): The former Toffees defender is now Everton’s U18s coach
Leighton Baines enjoyed a 13-year spell at Everton from 2007 to 2020 after leaving Wigan Athletic. The 30-cap England left-back amassed 420 appearances for the Toffees across all competitions before retiring in 2020. He further registered 67 assists and scored 39 goals.
Everton hired Baines as a development coach following the defender’s decision to hang up his boots. He later became an assistant manager within the Merseyside outfit’s Under-18s, and took over as the youth side’s head coach in July after Paul Tait became the U21s boss.
Morgan Schneiderlin (CDM): The former France anchor is now with OGC Nice
Everton signed Morgan Schneiderlin from Manchester United in January 2017 for an initial £20m, rising to £24m. The 15-cap France anchor would remain at Goodison through to July 2020 for 88 games in all competitions. OGC Nice paid the Toffees £2m for the midfielder.
Idrissa Gueye (CDM): The Senegal star returned to Everton from PSG this summer
Ronald Koeman capitalised on Aston Villa’s relegation to the Championship to sign Idrissa Gueye for £7m in August 2016. The Senegal star would become one of the best defensive midfielders in the Premier League during his time at Everton to earn a £30m exit in 2019.
Paris Saint-Germain bought Gueye off Everton three years ago, but he could not repeat his work in France. So, as Lampard strived to improve his engine room in the summer, Everton agreed a bargain move to get the 33-year-old back on a two-year contract for a mere £2m.
Theo Walcott (RM): Allardyce’s signing now sits on the bench at Southampton
Sam Allardyce paid Arsenal in excess of £20m to sign Theo Walcott in January 2018 during his brief spell in charge of Everton. The 47-cap England winger would go on to score 11 and create nine goals over 85 games across all competitions before returning to Southampton.
The Saints hired their academy product through the 2020/21 season as Everton let the 33-year-old’s contract expire. Walcott would then pen a two-year deal to return to St Mary’s permanently. But he now only sits on the bench, having not yet featured once this season.
Gylfi Sigurdsson (CAM): Everton broke their transfer record in 2017
Everton broke their transfer record to sign Gylfi Sigurdsson from Swansea City in August 2017 for £45m. The 78-cap Iceland international would go on to register 31 goals and 25 assists over 156 games in all competitions before his £100k-a-week deal expired in June.
Richarlison (LM): The Tottenham star scored twice on his Everton debut vs Wolves
Richarlison broke the deadlock 17 minutes into the now-Tottenham star’s Everton debut at Wolves in August 2018. The Brazilian hit home after Wolves failed to clear Baines’ free-kick. He would later add his second with a neat finish into the far corner after 67 minutes.
Cenk Tosun (ST): Allardyce called his £27m signing the ‘best in Europe’
Allardyce described Cenk Tosun as the ‘the best in Europe’ at £27m after signing the striker from Besiktas in January 2018. He also gave the forward a £100k-a-week contract. Yet over the four-and-a-half years of his deal, the 31-year-old only scored 11 goals across 61 games.
Everton also sent Tosun out on loan to Crystal Palace over the second half of the 2019/20 season. He further returned to Besiktas on a temporary deal in the latter half of 2020/21. The Black Eagles would re-sign Tosun permanently this July after his Everton deal expired.
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