Dave Prentice has been speaking about Jean-Philippe Gbamin on the Royal Blue podcast and what he’s like in training.
Everton have struggled largely this season for consistency having started the campaign with a four-game unbeaten run in the Premier League, but now find themselves without a win in five games, which has included an embarrassing 5-2 defeat at home to Watford.
A player who some Everton fans may have been excited to play this season after spending 619 days on the sidelines with several injuries was Gbamin, but in his one league start, he failed to make an impact, being hooked off at half time and was then handed a one-minute cameo against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend.
Should Delph get a new contract?
No!
Yes!
Gbamin’s performances will be of huge annoyance to Rafael Benitez, as he is in dire need of a physical midfielder to step up for the team during Abdoulaye Doucoure’s absence after his blistering start to the campaign.
The Ivorian’s single league start may not be solely down to his performances on the pitch, though, as Prentice explained.
“We’ve heard that his performances on the training pitch at Finch Farm have been erratic – he’s had good days training, then he’s had two or three really bad days training, and so you don’t get any level of consistency.
“So is that a result of his time out? Possibly, but when he’s been given opportunities to showcase it in football matches, he’s not produced – and that Wolves performance was very, very poor; he totally deserved getting hauled off when he did.
“He’s clearly done nothing on the training pitch in the meantime, as a reaction from that, to warrant getting brought on for the last eight minutes at the weekend.”
TIF Thoughts on Gbamin…
The Ivorian has only ever managed to muster up a high of two Premier League appearances during his time at Goodison Park despite being signed back in 2019, and it may just be a bridge too far for the midfielder to overcome and establish himself as a competent midfielder in the top flight given his injuries.
Benitez appears to have a load of options in the centre of midfield, however, they don’t seem to be good enough for what he wants.
Tom Davies was linked with a move away during the summer, Fabian Delph was told he could also leave during the transfer window and Gbamin is injury-prone. So, it is no surprise to see so many of them sharing minutes as the manager can’t decide on which of them is best to accompany mainstay Allan.
Gbamin is still just 25 years old, but if he is failing to correct his mistakes on the training pitch and put in the work away from matches, he may well be a better fit to another league and working under another manager, as that lack of effort is unlikely to get him very far in the Premier League.
In other news: ‘Rafa could change his mind’ – £3.15m-rated Everton ace tipped for possible contract extension