The Athletic’s Everton correspondent Patrick Boyland has recently discussed the future of the Toffees’ Brazilian attacker, Bernard.
Since the summer of 2018, the 28-year-old winger has been situated at Goodison Park having joined the club on a free transfer from Shakhtar Donetsk (per Transfermarkt).
During his time in Merseyside, Bernard has made 71 appearances for the Toffees in which he has bagged seven goals and provided seven assists.
Two of those goals and one of those assists have come this season, as he has had three direct goal involvements in five appearances in all competitions for Everton this term.
In the latest episode of The Athletic’s Gwlad Tidings podcast, though, Boyland discussed the Brazilian and cast some doubt over his future with the Toffees.
He said: “The interesting thing here is that, actually, Bernard was one of the players that I think, potentially, they could have or they certainly were looking to shift over the summer.
“There was a bit of talk about Roma, they were looking around at what they could do there. He’s a good player, but maybe just lacks that little bit of consistency, that little bit of extra physicality that sometimes you need in the Premier League.
“When he came in, because he was a free agent, he was able to command a very, very decent salary and become one of Everton’s top earners. He’s still one of Everton’s top earners to this day, but not a regular starter.
“So, it puts Everton in a bit of a situation where, is that cost-effective? Do you want to have a player on the periphery, if you can call it that, as one of the squad’s top earners?
“So, I still think maybe at the moment he’s going to be important. Everton need to use all [the] players in their squad but I wouldn’t put it past Everton looking to try and move him again, or at least being open to options.”
TIF Thoughts on what Patrick Boyland said about Bernard’s future…
As can be seen in what the journalist had to say, while he may be an “important” player for the time being, there is a chance that the Brazilian could be moved on in the not-too-distant future.
Should Everton move Bernard on?
No, he's a good player
Yes, he's not good enough
During the 2019/20 Premier League season, Bernard earned a 6.56/10 average rating over 27 appearances in the top flight, making him only the Toffees’ joint-12th-best performer (per WhoScored).
While that is not an overly catastrophic position in the squad, of the players’ wages that are known at Goodison Park, Bernard is the joint-highest earner on £120,000 per week (per Spotrac).
So, it is clear that his standing in the squad in terms of ability does not correlate with how much he is being paid by Everton, so, it may be prudent to move the Brazilian on.