Everton: What now for Kevin Mirallas?

Kevin Mirallas is reportedly sad Everton did not let him return to Olympiakos, but the reality is he only has himself to blame for his current situation.

Kevin Mirallas is not a happy camper at Everton these days. As per the Echo‘s David Prentice, he is apparently sad the Blues did not let him rejoin his former club Olympiakos before the conclusion of the summer transfer window.

The news was first reported by DH Net. Speaking to the French media outlet, Mirallas said:

"“I really wanted to join Olympiakos. I’m really sad. Everton didn’t want to let me go.”"

However, there are a number of reasons why the 29-year old only has himself to blame for his predicament. First, is the fact he only signed a new three-year contract extension with Everton four months ago.

At the time of signing, Mirallas claimed he was very happy to remain on Merseyside. He went on to say the Blues were the best club for him and he wanted to win a trophy with them.

Now, in fairness to the Belgium international, it’s possible he was happy back in May. Why else would he willingly sign a new deal for another three years?

However, if anything has changed since them, Mirallas again only has himself to blame. Consider that he had a couple of starts in Europe, at the beginning of Everton’s competitive campaign.

Since then, the winger/foward has struggled to find regular playing time. This culminated with being dropped from the squad altogether, for the Blues’ last game against Chelsea.

However, it turns out the reason for Mirallas’ exclusion for the visit to Stamford Bridge, was down to his attitude. As reported by Royal Blue Mersey, manager Ronald Koeman said:

"“He was out because he is struggling to deal with moments in the season and was disappointed. Everybody can be disappointed,  but I expect from everybody to be part of the team.“If somebody is showing that he is disappointed and his attitude is not the same, then I have to make decision.”"

In truth, if you’re going to have an attitude, we know Koeman is the type of manager who will not be impressed with this. Of course it’s easy for us to write this from the safety of a laptop, but Mirallas needs to man up and at least act professionally.

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Going back to the Leige native’s sadness at not being allowed to return to Olympiakos, there is another reason for his current predicament. As per Prentice, Everton have said they did not even receive a formal bid from the Greek club.

In fairness, this doesn’t necessarily guarantee the Blues would have let Mirallas go anyway. With their failure to secure another striker, they need all the depth they can get up front.

Overall, the former Lille player can be as sad as he likes, but the reality is he isn’t going anywhere, until January at the earliest. As such, it’s now up to him how he wants to deal with his immediate future.

Mirallas can either continue to sulk and sabotage his chances of playing more for Koeman, or he can buckle down and start fighting for his place. We know which route he should take, but it remains to be seen if he will be astute enough to take the right approach.

Next: Is Ross Barkley telling the truth?

What do you make of this situation with Mirallas? Do you agree that he only has himself to blame for his current predicament, or do you have any sympathy for the winger’s plight? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.