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Micah Richards has explained that Everton’s Tom Davies has had a lot of growing up to do, but has applauded him for the rich vein of form he’s now in.

Davies burst onto the scene back in 2017 after breaking through from the Toffees academy, which is why there has always been a lot of expectation on his shoulders from supporters.

He’s been in and out of the team during his first few senior years at the Merseyside club, but is an aggressive central midfielder that has looked the part so far in 2021.

The 22-year-old has put in back-to-back memorable performances in an Everton shirt recently, where he’s shown the best of his game with work-rate, strong tackling and confident passing.

Pundit Richards has noticed the development of the English central midfielder:

“Davies had a lot of growing up to do to cope with the Premier League, and he also had to deal with a lot of scrutiny, with some critics saying he was more bothered about fashion because of his unconventional dress sense,” Richards told the Daily Mail.

“But he’s put his head down and worked and I was delighted to see Davies play so well in the draw against Manchester United and then again against Tottenham in the FA Cup fifth round this week.

“Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti knows everything about football. For him to be picking Davies in his midfield tells you everything you need to know about Tom’s ability.”

TBR’s View:

It remains to be seen if Davies can stretch his form from now until the end of the season, but he’s certainly been playing with more confidence lately and it shows with the way he’s happy to take possession of the ball anywhere on the pitch.

His energy and enthusiasm rubs off on teammates around him, so right now he’s playing on merit.

With the recruitment so strong at Goodison Park last summer, it’s sent a message to the rest of the squad that they need to raise their game and Davies is one of several players now responding to that.