Pundit makes dramatic u-turn on 'petulant and complaining' Spurs star after Everton display

Stop the press - Garth Crooks has said something positive about Tottenham Hotspur's Richarlison! The trailblazing pundit has been unreserved in his scathing criticisms of the 26-year-old in the past, but he appears to have been won over by him following his impressive performance against his old club Everton at the weekend.

While Crooks acknowledged that he had held disdain for Richarlison in the past, describing him as 'petulant', 'dramatic' and even 'infantile', he had nothing but nice things to say about his display on Saturday afternoon.

While Richarlison certainly put forth an excellent individual performance, it was not enough to secure victory for Ange Postecoglou's men. They were leading by a score of 2-1 in added time - only for Toffees youngster Jarrad Branthwaite to score a late equaliser in a sickening blow for Spurs.

Crooks is a former Spurs star himself, having played for the Lilywhites between the years of 1980 and 1985. During this five-year spell, he made 125 league appearances for Tottenham, scoring 48 goals along the way. He also played for Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion and Manchester United over the course of his professional playing career.

What did Garth Crooks write about Richarlison in his column?

In his BBC Sport Team of the Week column, Crooks said that Richarlison showed a side to him that he 'didn't think he possessed' and lavished praise on the Brazilian for stepping up in the absence of star man Heung-min Son. Moreover, he also lent him praise for not celebrating his goals against his former club, describe his post-goal reactions as 'as respectful as I have seen from any footballer towards a former club'. Instead of breaking out into a wild celebration, Richarlison put his palms together and bowed apologetically towards the Everton fans after scoring against them.