Marco Silva insists Everton fans should not hail Moise Kean as the new Romelu Lukaku.
Evertonians have been desperate for a goalscoring No 9 since Lukaku left two years ago and hope Kean could be that player.
The teenage striker energised the Goodison Park crowd with his cameo off the bench against Watford last Saturday and has scored twice in his first three games for Italy.
Kean, who cost an initial £27million from Juventus , has huge potential and also netted seven times in his 18 Serie A appearances for the Italian champions last season.
But Silva has urged supporters not to put pressure on him by likening him to Lukaku.
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(Image: Liverpool Echo)
“You have to be calm and don’t start making these comparisons,” said the Blues boss. “Moise Kean is Moise Kean and Lukaku is Lukaku. Cenk is Cenk, Dominic is Dominic and Richarlison is Richarlison.
“It doesn’t make sense to make these comparisons. We are happy he’s here with us and the boy is also happy to be in our football club.
“Now it’s up to him to keep working hard and do the things I expect from him and our fans expect from him.
“The comparisons are not fair on him. He’s 19 years old and it’s unfair to put this pressure on him.”
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Kean, 19, is pushing to make his first Blues start at Aston Villa and Silva says he is ready after undergoing an intensive fitness programme at Finch Farm.
“If you’re asking me if he’s fit to play 90 minutes, then I don’t see reasons why not,” said the Portuguese.
“He didn’t play one pre-season match. Even with his former club, he didn’t play a pre-season game, only some training sessions with the Under-23s and then full sessions with the first team after.
“He looks fit to play more time if I decide he’s able to do so.”
Silva says Kean’s English is decent and has told Brazilian striker Richarlison he needs to improve his along with Yerry Mina.
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Silva, whose side can go top of the league for the first time in 12 years if they beat Villa, claims speaking better English will improve Richarlison as a player because he will have a greater tactical understanding.
“With Mina and Richarlison, we would like more from them and their levels are a little bit better, not like we would like,” he said.
“This is something we demand from them because this is one of the keys for them to adapt faster and to understand everything that’s happening around them.
“Not just on the pitch, but at Finch Farm and during a normal day in Richarlison’s life, it would help for sure.
“That’s what we demand from them and it’s up to them to keep working on this because in my opinion it will be one of the keys for them to perform better.
“For Richarlison, even more because the position he plays is really important.”
Everton probable team: Pickford; Coleman, Keane, Mina, Digne; Gbamin, Gomes; Richarlison, Sigurdsson, Bernard; Calvert-Lewin
