OPINION
Everton fans have not seen much of defender Phil Jagielka this season, and for good reason too – Kurt Zouma has been excellent while on loan from Chelsea.
After being suspended following a red card against Watford a few weeks ago, boss Marco Silva would have had no choice but to throw the veteran into the mix, and that is exactly what he did in the 3-0 win over Cardiff last week.
Jagielka proved that this experience was his most valuable asset during that victory and rightly so, it was like he had never been away apart from the few aspects of rustiness – but that all came to end on Sunday afternoon, when Zouma returned from his ban to take on Liverpool.
Zouma had a point to prove after the incident and he no doubt felt the pressure to perform after Jagielka’s assured display that evening, but the pressure evidently did not affect him, as he demonstrated why many Everton fans want him to sign permanently from Chelsea in the summer.
The 24-year-old dealt wonderfully well with the pace of Sadio Mane, which is quite the achievement when you remember that he is in red-hot form at the moment.
However, one other thing Zouma’s display indicates is that Jagielka is no doubt going to be thrown out into the cold once again just after he got warmed up.
He was no doubt hopeful that his display last Tuesday would have led to further stints in the team, but after Zouma’s dazzling outing, that does not look to be the case anytime soon.
Instead, he looks set for yet another long-term exile from the starting XI, something which will certainly throw his Goodison Park future into doubt – after all, he is 36-years-old.