OPINION
Cenk Tosun has come in for his fair share of criticism at Everton this season, some of it deserved, but he gave a stirring reminder of his quality against Millwall on Saturday.
The Turkey international wound the clocks back with a dominant display off the bench against the Championship side, impressing despite his team’s disappointing 3-2 defeat.
He scored less than ten minutes after replacing Dominic Calvert-Lewin, producing more cutting edge and attacking thrust than the young man had mustered in an hour.
He produced a typical striker’s finish to get the Toffees back into the game, the sort of strike that seemed fairly routine after his arrival from Besiktas a year ago.
His form has tapered off dramatically this campaign, but he has been feeding off scraps of late. He was much better on Saturday, though, and should be proud of his efforts.
The reality is that he may not remain an Everton player for much longer. BBC Sport reported earlier this week that Crystal Palace are interested in signing the attacker on loan.
Perhaps he showed enough against the Lions to make manager Marco Silva reconsider his standing at the club. Certainly, the Portuguese boss is in dire need of some inspiration at the moment.
The only way he is going to prove himself is if the manager throws him back into the starting XI – not doing so could prove costly.