View: Everton made correct call on Walcott with 28y/o replacement performing better
The decision to let Theo Walcott leave Everton on loan has proved to be the right move by Carlo Ancelotti as the stats show that he is being outperformed by Bernard.
Walcott joined Southampton this summer after Ancelotti deemed the winger surplus to requirements.
Questions were raised over the decision as it seemed that the Toffees were left with little offensive back up in the event that one of their first choice attackers picked up an injury.
Bernard has played second fiddle to James Rodriguez and Richarlison this season and he’s done a decent job.
The stats actually prove that he’s performing better than Walcott who is receiving plenty of praise for his supposedly good form on the South Coast.
According to Wyscout, Walcott has made six competitive appearances playing 489 minutes this season while Bernard has made five appearances and played 380 minutes.
Despite playing less football Bernard has matched Walcott for goal contributions as they both have three to their names with the Everton man registering two goals and one assist and the Saints winger scoring one but assisting two.
Bernard is actually outperforming Walcott on many key stats. One such case is in his crossing.
Crossing is a vital part of the game for a winger as they look to assist their teammates. This season Bernard has registered a 57.1% crossing accuracy compared to Walcott’s disappointing 22%.
Four of every five crosses Walcott attempts doesn’t find a teammate which is really poor for a Premier League player.
Bernard is also carrying the ball forward more than Walcott as the Brazilian is averaging 2.13 progressive runs per 90 minutes this season while the former England international is only completing 1.66 progressive runs per game.
With dribbling in general, Walcott is averaging a dribble success rate of 57.1% which is a substantial difference between Bernard’s average of 86.7%.
The Brazilian is also winning the ball back more than his former teammate with Bernard winning 58.3% of his offensive duels this season compared to the 44.9% of duels Walcott has been winning.
Overall, 72.8% of Bernard’s total actions this season have been successful compared to Walcotts successful total action percentage of 53.2%.
This means that only half of Walcott’s actions are successful which proves that the Toffees made the right decision in letting him go as they have much better back up in Bernard.
In other Everton news, Kevin Campbell has urged Alex Iwobi to find consistency after his performance against Fulham last weekend.