Former Everton defender Michael Ball has heaped praise on forward Bernard after his cameo off the bench against West Ham United on Sunday.
The Toffees fell to a 3-1 defeat against the Hammers at Goodison Park, but Ball was impressed with the showing the 14-cap Brazil international produced.
“But, his performance on Sunday really impressed me,” he told the Liverpool Echo. “His work-rate coming back in to the side was very rare to see from a Brazilian!
“What I really liked about him was that he was instantly asking for the ball, hungry to show something to the crowd and that’s what we’ve been crying out for from some other players.
“They’re your opportunities to give the manager a headache for next week, and I think Bernard’s the only one who can hold his head up high after the West Ham game.”
OPINION
Bernard certainly showed what he could do against West Ham on Sunday. As Ball says, there weren’t many Everton players who impressed against the Hammers, but Bernard was most definitely one of them. The Brazilian hasn’t had too many opportunities to display his skills since signing for the club on a free this summer, but he arrived with a big reputation and there was much excitement about him on Merseyside. There’s significant competition for places in attacking midfield at Goodison Park, and Bernard will have to beat out the likes of Gylfi Sigurdsson, Theo Walcott, Richarlison, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Ademola Lookman moving forward, but the 26-year-old deserves a chance to shine. His creativity is something that could really improve this Everton side, and he would surely help alleviate the struggles of centre forward Cenk Tosun this season. Marco Silva needs his players to step up and help improve the team’s poor form, and Bernard can certainly do that in the coming weeks.