After having clinched top-flight survival by the skin of their teeth in the penultimate game of last term, Frank Lampard and co would have been hoping to put that gruelling campaign behind them and kick on in the 2022/23 season, although this latest news will no doubt throw a spanner in the works.
While perhaps not unexpected – with the former Watford man having long been linked with a departure – that will do little to soften the blow, with the club having been so reliant on the £45m-rated gem in recent years.
The 2021/22 campaign saw the 36-cap international help to steer Lampard’s men away from danger with ten goals and five assists in 30 league games, having largely shouldered the goalscoring burden alone following Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s dismal, injury-hit season.
Since joining Everton from Vicarage Road on a £50m deal back in 2018, Richarlison has gone on to score 53 goals and supply 14 assists in 152 games across all competitions, with only six players having scored more league goals for the club in the Premier League era.