RICHARLISON has shed light on the fatigue which blighted the final stages of his Watford career, admitting that the exertions of playing in the Premier League left him feeling like his “legs were going to explode.”

The winger, who sealed a £44 million move to Everton last week, experienced a dramatic loss in form after scoring five goals in his first 12 Watford outings.

His failure to maintain his form led to the 21-year-old spending time out of the Watford side late in the campaign, and many were surprised to see Everton stump up such a hefty sum for the Brazilian.

Richarlison has now moved to explain his late season struggles as well as stressing he has now had the chance to recover with time away during the off-season.

“I took holidays [this summer] which I did not have for a long time because I played for the Brazil Under-20s, then went back to Fluminense and, finally, came to Watford,” Richarlison told the Everton website.

“Now I am rested and fresh and I want to be an elite player here. This is a new chapter. I want to be in the national team and achieve a lot of things with Everton.

“I felt fatigued before my holiday as there was a lot of training and many games. I felt my legs were going to explode, they felt really heavy and, at times, I would hold back in training to keep energy in reserve.

“A lot of people do not see this and sometimes when you do not perform as well as you can, that is maybe why.”

The former Hornets man found the net for Everton in a 4-1 pre-season defeat against Stade Rennais as he produced a performance littered with glimpses of class.

Richarlison arrives at Goodison Park with considerable pressure on his shoulders – an inevitable by-product off the sizable transfer fee Everton paid to secure his services.

The winger says such issues do not concern him and believes he has the quality to repay the faith shown in him by the Toffees.

“I will put everything I have on the field to try and help Everton win,” he said. “The club expect a lot from me.

“I will do my best to be the best player I can and help Everton in any way I can. I just want to play to the best of my ability.”