Tosun statement shows failure to strengthen hurting Everton

Carlo Ancelotti has publicly stated his intention to give near-forgotten Turkish striker Cenk Tosun more game-time this season for Everton, as the team struggles to cope with injuries and suspensions to their forwards.

This statement seems to me to be confirmation that Everton have made one major error in their transfer strategy and that was not bringing in another forward before the window shut.

The Toffees had an excellent transfer window overall, but as it drew to a close, the Blues first let Moise Kean move to PSG on loan for the season and then didn’t bring in another forward during the extended domestic part of the window.

The club were linked with several possible recruits but didn’t sign anyone leaving the team very reliant on Richarlison, James Rodriguez  and Dominic Calvert-Lewin staying fit and available.

While none of those players mentioned as possible recruits would have been able to fully replace the Toffees two top class South American forwards or Calvert-Lewin in this form, better quality and options would surely have been beneficial now.

I always thought it was a mistake and I think the admission from Ancelotti that Tosun will get more time in an Everton shirt this season, underlines it.

Of course if things had gone to plan Tosun wouldn’t be at Goodison Park either now. He had moved to Crystal Palace on loan in January and the feeling was that if it went well the move was likely to become a permanent one. He got injured though, it fell through and he’s back.

Events over the past few weeks have then given him an unexpected opportunity to play. Richarlison’s absence due to his suspension for the red card against Liverpool and James Rodriguez injury problems, have left the team badly weakened in attack.

The last two matches, which saw defeats to Southampton and Newcastle United away, have exposed the threadbare resources the Toffees possess up front.

Having picked a strange team to start with, Ancelotti then made some even stranger substitutions when he decided to take off both his full-backs as he tried to revive the side in the second half at St James Park.

Tosun was one of those substitutions, but it didn’t work and he wasn’t able to cause Newcastle’s defenders any problems.

While Calvert-Lewin did his best as usual and again scored a late consolation goal, he was left far too isolated in the match and badly missed Richarlison’s support and Rodriguez’s creative input. Tosun won’t be able to provide the qualities of either of those two South American stars.

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The Turkish striker is an honest and hard-working player who always seems to give 100% whenever he plays for the Blues.

However, the problem is he’s simply not good enough to deliver in the Premier League. Tosun has had a succession of chances to prove he is up to the job since he joined from Besiktas in January 2018 during Sam Allardyce’s unloved tenure in charge.

But apart from the odd one or two every now and then, he simply isn’t capable of scoring enough goals at this level of football and lacks the speed and technical ability to be a genuine threat.

If Calvert-Lewin was out for any length of time, then Everton really would be in trouble as Tosun simply cannot match the England man’s pace, power, athleticism and now consistent finishing up front.

Given the Toffees dodgy injury record and the fact he plays so much, it seems very possible that Calvert-Lewin might get hurt at some point in this campaign. With Kean at PSG and the only other striker young Ellis Simms, I just hope these decisions don’t come back to haunt the team later in the season.