OPINION
Everton scraped past League Two side Lincoln City with a 2-1 win in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday, and there were plenty of talking points to take away from the clash.
Ademola Lookman opened the scoring before Bernard scored his first goal for the club to double the Toffees’ lead, with a Michael Bostwick goal not enough for Lincoln to fight their way back into the game.
This is Futbol have picked out three things we learned about Everton v Lincoln below.
Lookman deserves a chance
It is no secret that many Everton fans are growing tired of Theo Walcott, with the former Arsenal winger failing to impress on a consistent basis this season. Walcott’s performances have become a point of huge frustration for many involved with the club, with his lack of end product seeing too many Toffees attacks go to waste. Waiting in the wings has been Ademola Lookman, who started against Lincoln and headed home Everton’s opening goal. While the youngsters performance was not a stunning one, there was still enough there to suggest he should be given more of a chance to displace Walcott in the starting XI. He is a real talent, and it would be a shame to see the club waste that by not utilising him.
Davies needs a loan
Young midfielder Tom Davies broke into the Everton first-team with so much promise, but has since seen his form and standing at the club diminish greatly. Under Silva this season he has gone from a regular starter to a substitute, and his performance against Lincoln illustrated exactly why. The 20-year-old midfielder looked so low on confidence against the League Two side, and saw his day cut short as he was hauled off early in the second half. Unfortunately for Davies there are several players ahead of him in the pecking order at Goodison Park, and it is looking like a loan exit this month is the best option for all parties. That will give the 5’11” ace [Transfermarkt], who has quite frankly become a liability, the chance to regain some swagger and hopefully return to Everton a better player in the summer.
Zouma needs to improve
Kurt Zouma has threatened on several occasions over the past few seasons to break into the top bracket of centre-backs, but the France international has still not quite managed it. Zouma has proved to be a good acquisition so far for the Toffees after joining on loan from Chelsea, but also a frustrating one. Despite being relative comfortable on the ball, Zouma is constantly let down by his passing ability, which sees him give the ball away far too often in defence. And, at the top level, Everton will be punished if Zouma does not improve that aspect of his game. Obviously they got away with it against Lincoln, but Premier League opposition will not be so forgiving.