Richarlison has signed a new five-year contract with Everton despite interest from several suitors including Manchester United.

Marcel Brands, Everton’s director of football, announced last week that a contract extension had been agreed in principle with the Brazil international and his representatives. The 22-year-old had just under four years remaining on the contract he signed when joining from Watford for £40m in 2018, so the new deal is in effect a 12-month extension on improved terms.

But given the interest in his services, and the poor results that have left the manager, Marco Silva, under severe pressure, the agreement will come as a welcome breakthrough for Everton.

Silva was instrumental in bringing the forward from Vicarage Road and remains close to the player. He believes a new deal for Richarlison offers the stability that Everton have lacked in recent years.

The Everton manager said of interest in the Brazilian: “I believe it is not just Manchester United. I believe it is some more. As a club we have to keep our best players. Unfortunately we did not keep one of them in the summer [Idrissa Gana Gueye] but to keep growing and going in the right way we want our most important players, our best players, and we should keep all of them. Then we can keep growing. We don’t see other clubs who want to grow selling their best players. That is what we should do.”

Richarlison scored his 20th Everton goal in Sunday’s defeat at Leicester and has made 19 appearances for Brazil since moving to Goodison Park. “I intend to be here a long time,” the 22-year-old said. “This was the club which gave me the opportunity to show my football. It was here I managed to get a place in the Brazil national team and it was here I have scored lots of goals in the Premier League. The club trusts me and I trust them.”

He credited Silva with playing an instrumental part in his development and insisted the squad remained firmly behind the beleaguered manager. “My development and progress is clear for everyone to see and Marco Silva has been part of that. He has my trust and the trust of the whole group. It’s us on the pitch and we are looking to help him as much as possible because Marco Silva is an excellent person.”