View: Carlo Ancelotti must look to 24y/o Everton man before splashing out on Christian Eriksen
Everton are reported to be interested in Inter Milan’s Christian Eriksen but they should look closer to home before spending more.
The Toffees have undoubtedly improved under Carlo Ancelotti and part of their success is due to his recruitment.
A return of 26 goals in 16 league games, compared to 19 goals in the same period last season is evidence of that, with James Rodriguez’s creativity paying dividends.
The Colombia international has six goal contributions in ten league starts, so when fit he has to be in the starting line-up.
Because of this, Eriksen is simply not needed.
Not only that, but the Dane has suffered a real fall from grace over the past 18 months.
That has led to the possibility of him exiting the San Siro, with his club stating they will not stand in his way.
Given his performances since his move a year ago, this is not the least bit surprising.
Unfortunately for the 28-year-old his form was on the decline while still at Tottenham, as the graph (stats from WhoScored) below evidences.
To make matters worse, Eriksen is just a month shy of his 29th birthday.
That means his days of improvement are likely behind him, and it would require a lot from Ancelotti to get the midfielder back to his best.
Everton do need an extra spark when Rodriguez is unavailable but the Italian boss could have a readymade answer in Alex Iwobi.
The former Arsenal man has been rather inconsistent this season, but a change in position could do him the world of good.
Iwobi has occupied a wide role in all but two of his 46 Everton appearances but if Ancelotti wants to get him involved in play more, he should deploy him as a no.10.
The Nigeria international’s stats prove the case.
In the current campaign, he has averaged 23.1 passes and 0.7 key passes per game, according to WhoScored.
Contrast that to his performances in a central position throughout his career, in which he has 38.6 passes and 1.4 key passes on average.
Not only that, but he is much more of a direct threat, with 1.6 shots per game as a no.10 compared to 0.4.
There is still a lot more required of the 24-year-old, granted, but given Eriksen’s decline it would be a risk to add another luxury player to the squad.
In other Everton news, Kevin Campbell suggests Ancelotti must give one player time to hit top form again.