Football news - Playing in the Premier League was a distant dream, admits Everton star Richarlison

The 21-year-old has been one of the stand-out performers in the Premier League this season, scoring six league goals so far since his £44million summer move from Watford.

Richarlison continued to impress during the international break as he notched his third goal for his country in the 1-0 win over Cameroon in Milton Keyes – but while the South American can acknowledge his meteoric rise, he has ambitions to reach even loftier heights.

“I never thought that I’d be playing in one of the biggest leagues in the world,” he told CNN. “I thank God for helping me get here. I’ve still got a long journey ahead of me. I’m very young and I can learn a lot from my team-mates.

“When I went for a trial at America Mineiro [in 2014] I had to borrow my friend’s boots. I remember that one of them was blue and the other was red. I was without any boots so those were the ones I used for the trial. I passed the trial with these boots and I was very happy and I thank my friend.”

All of Richarlison's Premier League goals have come under manager Marco Silva, whom he followed in joining Everton from Watford in the summer.

The makeshift striker has scored 11 in 34 appearances under Silva, compared to the 14 blanks he fired in the second half of his Hornets stint under Javi Gracia.

But while Silva represents the player’s footballing mentor, Richarlison himself cites his biological father as being his primary source of inspiration.

“Wherever [my father and uncle] played, I’d go and watch them,” he added. “I’d learn from them and try to get involved myself.

Richarlison has followed in the footsteps of many Brazilians who have tried to tackle the transition from playing in sweltering conditions to Europe’s cooler climate, but his sharp drop-off in form last season means he will want to dispel any suggestion he struggles when the temperatures plummet this time around.

Brazil are rebuilding after their World Cup campaign came to an end following a 2-1 defeat to Belgium in the quarter-finals, and Richarlison is one of the new faces in the squad.

Head coach Tite phoned the player to inform him he would be called up for the September internationals against USA and El Salvador, enabling the former Fluminense forward to form a close bond with one of his idols in the game.

He said: “I was very happy. I couldn’t believe it. It only sunk in the following day. I got to know Neymar when I went to his house in Paris. I spoke a little with him and took a photo with him because he was my favourite when I was growing up.

“In my earlier interviews, I used to say that I would cut my hair to look like him. When I arrived at the Brazil national team, I told him and he laughed and said that it was great to have a player like me around.”