Alan Smith claimed Everton should be aiming to compete in the Europa League as they’re a big club in his opinion.
The Sky Sports pundit described Toffees owner Farhad Moshiri as wealthy as he revealed that he thought the club had the funds to assemble a side capable of competing in the Europa League.
Smith also added that he thought Marco Silva would be keen on competing in the Europa League as it had become a more attractive prospect in recent times.
“I don’t know whether it is just my imagination but the Europa League is becoming more attractive,” said Smith on Sky Sports’ The Debate (22:49, Sky Sports Premier League, Thursday May 2nd).
“A team like Everton, a big club, that’s gotta be your aspiration, they’ve got the funds, they’ve got a wealthy owner, so they’re able to assemble a squad that can tackle it.
“Arsenal and Chelsea have done it, yet they’re that little bit ahead of Everton on the ladder but yeah he’ll (Silva) be keen on it.”
OPINION
Smith is spot-on to call Moshri wealthy and he is completely right to suggest that the owner’s wealth is a key reason why the club should be dreaming about the Europa League. Silva’s side are more than capable of finishing high enough in the Premier League to qualify for the Europa League and everyone surrounding the club should be thrilled at that prospect. While competing in the Europa League appeared to tear Burnley apart this season as their side couldn’t cope with the amount of games it led to them having, the Toffees surely wouldn’t suffer the same problems. The Toffees know how gruelling the Europa League can be having competed in the tournament in the 2017/18 campaign, and will prepare accordingly. Moshiri will no doubt hand Silva extra funds in order to add the additional players to his squad he needs, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Toffees not only qualify for the Europa League this season but do well in it in their 2019/20 campaign.