OPINION
At the age of 20 in 2014, Everton left-back Luke Garbutt was touted as a player to watch following his Premier League bow.
Oh, how the mighty fall – as the same player has now been loaned out to League One outfit Oxford United, where he has been having a rather torrid time of things.
The fact that he was farmed out to a third tier club speaks volumes about his future under current boss Marco Silva, and failing to impress at Fulham in the 2015/16 campaign has not really helped his case either.
This is why the Toffees must wield the axe on the 24-year-old when he returns from his temporary spell in the summer – at Craven Cottage he was shaky in the defence and offered practically nothing when going forward, so he is hardly going to set Everton alight is he?
This undoubtedly prompted the West London club to end their interest in Garbutt, and his fall from grace has only been reinforced after he was dropped to the bench in October after a showdown with Luton Town – and failing to make a single appearance since.
It is a shame to see a player who once had a bagful of potential decline so rapidly, and it is clear that his future at Goodison Park has all but vanished.
The fact that his spell at Oxford has been a struggle can be correlated with how dismal the team have been recently – seven losses and one draw in the eight matches he has played in must be no coincidence.
Marco Silva has no doubt been keeping tabs on the gutless flop and he of all people will recognise that he has nothing to offer Everton in the slightest.
Come the summer, Garbutt’s time on Merseyside is truly dead and buried.