Marco Silva believes Richarlison has quality to score 20 goals a season
• Silva feels he has the man to fill Romelu Lukaku’s boots
• Everton manager preparing to face his old club Watford
Richarlison celebrates after scoring for Everton against Newcastle United.
Marco Silva and Richarlison both face their former club Watford for the first time at Goodison Park on Monday, with the manager suggesting his striker could become the 20-goal-a-season man Everton have struggled to find since
parting with Romelu Lukaku.
That might be a big task if
Richarlison, who cost Everton £35m to acquire from Watford, has to keep playing in wide positions rather than as a central striker, though Silva feels he has plenty of goals still to come.
“He has seven already, which is not a bad number when you consider he missed two games through suspension,” the
Everton manager said. “I am happy with him but I still think he can do better in terms of goals, he certainly has the quality.”
Richarlison’s latest goal, against Newcastle, only restored parity as Everton dropped another couple of points at home, but Silva is unconcerned over his side scoring only twice in their last four matches. “You have to take into account that two of those matches were at Chelsea and Liverpool,” he pointed out. “They are not easy places for any team to score goals, yet at both Stamford Bridge and Anfield we created chances.
“I agree we should probably take more of our chances, we created enough in the first half against Newcastle to have won the game, but points in the Premier League are not always easy to come by. Every game brings its own challenge, and the main thing is to keep working and believing. I look at my friend Nuno at Wolves, whose team lost five times but
came back to beat Chelsea.”
Silva knows Watford well – “That’s true, but they know me very well also” – and was not surprised by their robust start to the season. “They have some good attacking players who can create problems. We are expecting a tough game but it is not different because it is
Watford, it is just another home game it is important to try and win. What happened in the past is history now.
“This will not be the first time I will face a former club and unfortunately I doubt it will be the last. That is bound to happen over time when you are trying to build a managerial career. It is not important now to talk about how my time at Watford ended. Things have moved on but I have big respect for every club I have worked for.”