Richarlison: What has happened to Watford’s exciting Brazilian prodigy?

Last summer, Watford spent around £11m on a relatively unknown 20 year old Brazilian named Richarlison from Fluminense. Chelsea, Ajax and Manchester United were very interested in signing him, but a last minute call from Marco Silva convinced him to choose Watford.

He got a UK work permit despite having not played for the Selecao, and he made his debut as a substitute in a draw against Liverpool on the opening day of the season.

Young Brazilian talents usually need time to adapt to English football but that was not the case with Richarlison. He immediately showed what he is capable of. In the first 13 games in the Premier League, Richarlison scored 5 goals and enrolled 4 assists. A pacey and exciting winger with an eye for goal, was the star of the attack for the Portugese coach.

Things went downhill in January. Marco Silva has been sacked following a run of poor results, and Richarlison was very angry about that decision, and he even expressed his frustration through his Twitter account. Marco Silva was able to converse with Richarlison in his native Portuguese, so his departure reflected on Richarlison’s form.

He lost his motivation after Silva got sacked and the second half of the season is not good at all for Brazilian youngster.

Richarlison has failed to score in his last 18 Premier League appearances. In those 18 matches, he attempted 44 shots but only hit the target with ten shots.

People have changed their opinions on Richarlison so fast because he hasn’t been able to keep a high level of performances in his first Premier League season. Also, we can not forget that he joined Watford in the middle of the season in Brazil so he’s been playing without a break for 12 months.

Without a doubt, Richarlison is in poor form. He’s been running down blind alleys, shooting from improbable positions and he is visibly losing his composure. He desperately needs a goal to get his head right.

 

Written by Rijad Abaza

Follow Rijad on Twitter @RijadAbaza

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