Former Everton player Michael Ball believes that Richarlison is a star player and that the Toffees need his energy and ability to win football matches.

The 24-year-old has featured for Everton on 120 occasions throughout his three years with the club, scoring 43 goals and  providing ten assists.

Richarlison started the new Premier League season in fine form, scoring the equalising goal in a 3-1 win over Southampton, before setting up Dominic Calvert-Lewin for the Toffees' third of the afternoon and ensuring they got off to a winning start under new manager Rafa Benitez.

And Ball was full of praise for Richarlison, exclusively telling Football FanCast: “He knows that he’s a key player to the football club. He’s one of our star guys and we do need him, we need his energy and his ability to win football matches.”

Richarlison was part of the Brazil Olympic games squad, where he scored five goals and provided one assist, with Brazil winning the Gold medal after beating Spain 2-1 in the final after extra time. He was also part of the Brazil squad that were runners-up at the Copa America, getting a goal and assist in the group stage game against Peru.

After a successful summer for Richarlison, winning an Olympic Gold Medial and getting off to a brilliant start in the Premier League, manager Rafa Benitez has a rest plan in place for the Brazilian, telling the Liverpool Echo: “We will bring the best from him in the next couple of weeks and, after that, give him time to recover fully for the rest of the season.”