Paul Merson has performed a U-turn over comments made about Everton star Richarlison back in the summer, admitting the Brazilian has proven him wrong.
Former England international Merson controversially claimed the Blues had "spoiled the window" back in August after Richarlison completed a £40million move from Watford to Goodison Park.
"I think that's (Richarlison signing) what's spoiled the window if I'm being perfectly honest," he said at the time.
They were comments that drew widespread criticism from Blues supporters, with even former striker Kevin Campbell moving to dismiss the opinion of the ex-Arsenal man.
Since switching to Merseyside, Richarlison has developed into a fully-fledged Brazil international and has netted an impressive 14 goals for Marco Silva's Blues in all competitions.
That tally places him at the top of Everton's scoring charts alongside Gylfi Sigurdsson and the 21-year-old has been one of the Toffees' standout performers in Silva's maiden season at the helm.
Merson has now backtracked on those comments made before the season and claimed Richarlison has been value for money at Goodison.
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He told the Daily Star : "I love it when people prove me wrong - and Richarlison has proved me wrong at Everton .
"When they signed him, I said they ruined the transfer market because they massively overpaid for him and he wasn’t worth such a big fee because he was too inconsistent.
"I still think Everton paid a lot of money for him but he’s scored 13 goals and he’s probably proved to be good value for them to be honest.
"My problem with him was always that he had too many up and down spells, and I think that’s still the case. But fair play to him – 13 goals is a good return.
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"He still has spells where he has a little scoring burst and then he starts to go missing for a few games. But he’s still young and I think he can get that consistency if he keeps working hard."
Richarlison is likely to be in action when the Blues travel to Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon.
