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Watford starlet Richarlison has revealed that he struggled to adapt to training and a different diet when he first arrived in England.

You would not have know it, as Richarlison hit the ground running in his first three months in England. He scored five goals in his first 11 Premier League games, netting a last-minute winner at Swansea, a stoppage-time equaliser at West Bromwich Albion and causing more than a few eyebrows to be raised.

Although the next three months have proved difficult and Richarlison is going through an indifferent patch of form, it is a surprising admission from someone who seemed to take to English football like a duck to water.

"The training in England is very hard," Richarlison told FourFourTwo magazine, in a wide-ranging interview.

"The players are always out to get you. Every time I get the ball, I jump because I know they're going to hit me."

And it's the pace of the game too: "I was on the bench for my first match, at home to Liverpool, he added, "and quickly realised that the game's very different here - players run for the full 90 minutes.

"You have to train hard and recover well so you don't get cramps during the game."

Then there was the food; brought up on Brazilian cuisine, Richarlison was in a hotel when he first moved to Watford in August.

Sausage and mash, fish and chips and pasta dishes galore were probably on the menu there, but none of it was what he was used to eating.

"I didn't like the food and I lost 5KG as I was staying in a hotel and just eating hamburgers because it was the closest thing I could to find to a Brazilian dish," the 20-year-old explained.

"Then I found a home and my agent and his wife came to live with me and I began eating more rice and beans.

"Slowly that started solving things and later we found a Brazilian butcher working in Radlett. He imports meat from Southern Brazil that you'd usually have on a big barbecue. It's delicious."

Those close to Richarlison have helped to make the transition from Rio de Janiero to Hertfordshire easier.

"My friends are a huge help. They're very playful, they sing and dance, and this helps a lot with the adaptation to a new country. We learn English together," he explained.

But there was one member of the Watford squad he took Richarlison under his wing straight away - Heurelho Gomes. Richarlison says Gomes is like a 'father' and it is one of the reasons he feels Gomes deserves more respect after being dropped from the Watford squad at Arsenal.

"And then there is Heurelho Gomes," he adds. "He's been like a father to me. He has helped me to sort out a car and a house - basically everything."

Fans have become a little frustrated with Richarlison's displays in recent weeks and his reaction to being substituted, but there is no doubting their backing means a lot to him.

Richarlison explained: "After I scored my first goal I ran to the centre of the pitch and the crowd started to sing my name - I got pretty emotional.

"I was rejected by Avai and Figueirense but today I'm playing in the Premier League against great players.

"When we played Manchester United and I saw Zlatan Ibrahimovic, it made my eyes shine. This is a childhood dream that came true."

Marco Silva's phone call to Richarlison to convince him to sign for Watford instead of a planned move to Ajax has been well-documented. He denies it was due to money though, saying the Premier League was always his dream.

"Ajax are a big club, playing in the Champions League and I would have got more money there," he admitted. "I came to Watford to play in the Premier League and stand out. No amount of money could ruin my dream."

But he is not stupid either: "Look, everybody wants financial security for their family, and when a player says otherwise, he’s lying.

"If I play at a really high level, opportunities will come my way. But right now my mind is focused on Watford. I will raise my level. I think about playing in the Champions League and being the top scorer in the Premier League.

"I came to Watford to make history."