Everton: 5 Everton players Rafa Benitez needs to offload

1. Bernard

Bernard arrived from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2018 on a free transfer. Since joining the Toffees, the diminutive attacker has enjoyed little success at Goodison Park. For the majority of his Everton career, Bernard has played second fiddle to players offering superior qualities. Despite offering versatility by playing on the wings and behind the striker, Bernard struggled to combat the Premier League’s physicality.

His agility and dribbling aids him in evading the defenders but the lack of physical solidity is where he loses his money. He’s played under three different managers at Goodison Park and under none he has completely asserted his quality. In 84 games for the Royal Blues, Bernard has just managed 8 goals and 7 assists, which are not convincing numbers for an attacker.

Under Carlo Ancelotti, Bernard was just a rotational option, making substitute appearances. Last season, the Brazilian started just five games in all competitions and making a total of 18 appearances.

The 28 year old was also close to leaving Everton, joining Al Nasr in January but a deal fell through. Everton want to upgrade their wide options and have been linked to several wingers. Everton will make a sure shot profit on Bernard’s sale as he arrived for free. What’s more important is that the Toffees will also lighten the wage budget by getting rid of Bernard’s £120,000 per week wages.

Now that Everton have been linked to a number of wingers like Andros Townsend, Demarai Gray, Leon Bailey and a few others, Bernard is likely to leave the club as Rafa Benitez aims to bolster the wide options.