Northern Touch Soccer

Everton manager Marco Silva has highlighted that Richarlison was afforded a rest from the starting lineup at Burnley after being almost ever-present through the club’s Premier League campaign. Before the Clarets game, the Brazilian had started in all but two matches for the Toffees and those came out from a suspension.

Speaking after the game, Silva highlighted that Richarlison is not a machine and he has to take care of the player physically with the congested schedule heading into the New Year, he said:“Like you know, it is a busy December. They are humans, they are not machines. It is hard for them to play all the matches and a game every three days. We have to manage their physical condition and Richarlison has been playing almost every minute of every game and we have different solutions so we can manage this situation. I know how important he is for us but the others are working hard as well.”

Cardiff City manager Neil Warnock has suggested that Richarlison could be worth twice the £45m Everton paid for his signature during the summer transfer window. The attacker has been the standout performer for the Toffees during the first half of the ongoing campaign after contributing six league goals and this has already made him a regular feature with the Brazilian national team.

Speaking in a press conference, Warnock highlighted that the Toffees are currently the hardest working side in terms of the statistics and happened to heap praise on the qualities of Richarlison by saying that he could be worth double the sum paid for his signature earlier in the summer, he said: “You look at stats and they’re the hardest working side in the Premier League at the moment. Look at Richarlison up front he’s probably worth double that £45million.

Marco Silva reckons Michael Keane’s state of mind at this present moment is very different from what it was ahead of the start of the season.

According to Silva, there are many different factors which were responsible for Keane not playing up to his potential last season. It was his debut season at Everton and he had to play under as many as three head coaches.

Former Arsenal star Gilberto Silva has praised compatriot Richarlison following Everton’s goalless draw against Chelsea on the road. The 21-year-old only arrived in the Premier League from Fluminense last year but he has since shown immense progress which has made him a regular for club and country.

Speaking to Everton TV, Silva was pleased with the progress of the former America Mineiro graduate and believes the forward offers something different to the national side than other players within the squad, he said: “Now Richarlison has played for the national team as well and it is great for a young player to be in the squad - it will raise his confidence.

Gylfi Sigurdsson was able to provide a stunning conclusion to the trip to King Power Stadium as Everton won 2-1 against Leicester City. Marco Silva was delighted with the victory, which was extremely crucial for Everton considering that they were playing against 10 men for the last 30 minutes of the match. Everton had taken the lead through Richarlison after just seven minutes but Ricardo Pereira came up with an equaliser in the 40th minute. Wes Morgan was sent off just after the hour mark to make a sizable shift in dynamic to the game and Gylfi Sigurdsson’s long-range strike was able to hand a winner to the visitors.

Marco Silva claimed after the match that it was an extremely important moment for Sigurdsson since he was scoring his fifth goal of the campaign already. It took the midfielder a long time to settle at Everton but the £ 45 million transfer finally seems to be working for the blues. Silva claimed that Sigurdsson was a player of immense quality and that his performances were of paramount importance to the club. Silva admitted that he has changed the role of Sigurdsson compared to last season and this has made a difference in terms of his statistics.

Former Everton star Andy Gray was not pleased with the showing of Cenk Tosun who was guilty of missing a number of goalscoring opportunities during the weekend loss to West Ham United. The Toffees had made an unbeaten start to the campaign with three draws and one win from their opening four matches but they could not sustain the streak against the Hammers, who beat them by a 3-1 scoreline.

Following the game, Gray was particularly critical about Tosun, who has failed to open his goal tally since the start of the season. The Turkey international has indeed contributed a couple of assists in the five league games to date but Gray was still not been impressed by the striker, who he reckons should only be a squad player.

France international Kurt Zouma is looking forward to securing regular game-time with Everton after sealing a deadline-day loan move from Chelsea. The centre-back had failed to receive assurances of regular first-team football under Blues boss Maurizio Sarri and this urged him to make the move to Goodison Park before the transfer deadline.

In an exclusive interview with Everton TV, Zouma admitted that he was impressed by the ongoing project under Marco Silva and he is looking forward to making a notable impression with the Toffees during the ongoing campaign, he said: “I spoke to the manager for the first time about two weeks ago and I was interested in the project.

Everton manager Marco Silva has highlighted that he is on the search for quality players before the transfer window concludes next month. The Toffees have remained relatively quiet with no signings yet for the summer but that should soon change with Richarlison expected to arrive from Watford for a reported fee of around £45m.

In a report covered by Liverpool Echo, Silva admitted that he would want to sign more players during the transfer window but the emphasis is rather than quality than quantity for the summer, he said: “The most important thing is not the number. For us to sign players, we must be sure about [their] quality. We must be sure they can improve our squad. In some positions, we are clearly looking to improve because we have to. [I]t is not the most important thing to talk about what are the positions because I need to be fair to our players, but I can tell you four or five or maybe one more, six, players we have to sign.”

Everton ace Jordan Pickford has insisted that no shot-stopper would have saved Harry Kane’s penalties for England, given the power and accuracy behind his efforts. Kane converted two penalties en route to a hat-trick against Panama and the 6-1 victory ensured that the Three Lions qualified for the knockout stage of the World Cup.

Speaking after the game, Pickford was asked whether Kane’s efforts are unstoppable to which he replied: “Pretty much. You have got to do a lot of guessing but the power behind it and the accuracy… both pens were the same and when Harry is finishing like that there is no chance. He is a top forward for starters, that is his main game – finishing. I was watching him from my end of the pitch and his two penalties were top drawer.”

PSV Eindhoven striker Kevin Lozano has stressed that he is completely focused on the summer World Cup and he is not interested in a move to Everton. Marcel Brands recently quit PSV to join the Toffees as the new director of football and this has spread speculation that Lozano could be on his way to Goodison Park.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Lozano said: “Brands brought me to PSV, I’m grateful, happy, but I’m not thinking about whether I’m an option [for Everton]. If there is an option to leave we’ll decide what is the best decision for me and my family, but I’m concentrating on the national team.”