Paul Merson has claimed that greedy Theo Walcott was wrong to move to Everton as their style of football will not suit him and he has just done it for the money.
In his column for the Daily Star, the pundit shared that he understood the deal from the Toffees’ perspective, but that Walcott will be frustrated by the lack of chances he will get at the club.
“I don’t get it from Walcott’s (perspective),” wrote Merson.
“They’ve just been trashed by Tottenham and their manager says they need to be ‘more boring’.
“That doesn’t exactly fill you with excitement if you’re a forward going there, does it?
“You just know Sam Allardyce is going to go more defensive now, and that means less chances for Walcott.”
The 28-year-old winger joined the Toffees for £20million, according to the BBC, from Arsenal and signed a three-and-a-half year contract.
Merson revealed that Walcott should have joined Bournemouth or Southampton, if he wanted to be happy at a new club rather than be greedy and go where the money is.
“Southampton and even Bournemouth both play more expansive football than Everton. Sometimes you can take a pay cut to play where you’re happy.|
The attacker is inline to make his Everton debut against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
OPINION
Merson is right to doubt Walcott’s expensive move to the Toffees, as it’s not guaranteed to work. Allardyce wants his side to be defensively tough, and doesn’t always set his side up to go forward. This style of football sees his front-line have limited chances, and Walcott is not known for being clinical. Due to this, the 28-year-old might not be able to grab as many goals as fans expect. It’s true this would be down to his inability to take chances, but it would also be aided by his manager’s style. If the winger did move to Everton just for the high-wages, then the attacker will no doubt not be bothered by his goal return. However, this doesn’t seem to be the case and he could have just made an informed decision.