Dave Prentice has been speaking on the latest edition of the Liverpool Echo’s Royal Blue podcast about all things relating to Everton.
One of the topics that Prentice talked about was Alex Iwobi’s performance after the Nigerian international posted a controversial message on Instagram seemingly about what position Carlo Ancelotti has played him in.
In 30 appearances this season for the Toffees, Ancelotti has played Iwobi in different positions, though mainly as a right-winger despite preferring to play as an attacking midfielder.
Against Burnley, Iwobi was given the chance in that role, but it seems as if Prentice wants to see more from the former Arsenal man.
He said: “He’s a professional footballer, you’ve got to be better than that; you can’t be pigeonholed into one single position where you can perform, and if you have to perform in a different position, you suddenly can’t do it.
“Look at Ben Godfrey, for example, or Gylfi Sigurdsson, who’ve been asked to play in various positions, and have done so far more successfully.
“I am afraid if Alex Iwobi is limiting himself to only playing that number ten role, he’s not going to get much football at Goodison Park; he’s got to do better than that when he is asked to go wide.
“I did fear when he made that reshuffle, and he pushed him out into a wide position, that bright finish was going to suddenly dissipate – and it just disappeared totally.”
Do you think Iwobi was poor?
Yes, he was dreadful
No, he wasn't that bad
TIF Thoughts on Iwobi’s display…
After his Instagram post, you would have thought that Iwobi could have done with a good performance, but it is clear that he didn’t impress Prentice and his average rating of 6.4/10 from WhoScored suggests that he struggled to get into the match.
Iwobi, who is valued at £22.95m by Transfermarkt, hasn’t really lived up to expectations since his £27.36m move from Arsenal, and he has only scored four goals and provided four assists in 59 appearances, and it is clear why Prentice is expecting more from the Nigerian.