Watford captain Troy Deeney has joked that he will have to “smash” former teammate Richarlison when his side take on Everton at Goodison Park on Monday.
Richarlison has impressed at Everton since signing from Watford in a £50 million deal last summer, scoring seven goals in 13 Premier League matches and earning his first senior Brazil call-up.
Deeney does not hold the 21-year-old’s decision to leave Vicarage Road and reunite with former Watford manager Marco Silva against him, but insists there will be no warmth on the pitch.
“I'm going to have to smash him,” Deeney told The Sun when asked about Richarlison. “On Monday he's the enemy.
“I wasn't disappointed [when he left] because you can understand it. Business-wise it was a no-brainer for the money.
“You can see his potential daily, his enthusiasm for football is up there and he's now getting the national team looking at him.”
Watford’s form has nosedived under Javi Gracia after winning their first four Premier League matches of the season and they now lie 13th in the table, having won just two of their last 11 games in the competition and lost on each of their last three outings.
Everton, meanwhile, are going well under Silva in seventh, and Deeney is braced for Watford to endure a difficult evening at Goodison Park.
“We know when we get there it will be hostile, they'll give us grief and we expect that,” he added. “We know what's coming.”
