By Kealan Hughes

28th Jan, 2021 | 6:01pm

View: Everton have made big mistake by not signing a midfielder in January

Everton picked up a respectable draw at home to Leicester but the result is typical of the season we have had so far.

We have performed well this year and improved a great deal, but there is a sense we could be even better.

We could have got all three points on Wednesday too and perhaps would have done but for Jordan Pickford’s error.

Individual mistakes are difficult to prepare for but what is less acceptable is the club’s refusal to sign a midfielder this month.

Allan was key to our early season success but has now missed eight consecutive games, while Fabian Delph continues to be a sicknote.

The Brazilian has been replaced by Tom Davies, but the 22-year-old does not meet the standard required.

Worryingly, it is not just because of a lack of quality either, as Davies lacks energy in the middle of the park – both in attack and defence.

A look at the match against Arsenal last month demonstrates that weakness, as well as exposing Davies’ lack of awareness.

The image above shows he failed to pick up Arsenal’s attacking midfielder, Joe Willock, the player he should have been watching like a hawk.

It occurred at a pivotal moment in the match, too, with Everton leading 2-1, and the resulting cross could easily have been turned in for an equaliser.

It is not the only example of a lapse in concentration either.

In the first-half of that encounter, Davies was even more guilty of a lack of effort.

It was poor defending all round but the youngster fell way behind play and as a result left Eddie Nketiah in acres of space, which he failed to take advantage of.

Everton did not have these problems with Allan in the side, with his tireless running and a solid return of 3.4 tackles per game to Davies’ 1.2, per WhoScored.

Against Leicester Davies’ positioning was exposed.

He failed to read a cross that came into the back post and did not pick up an attacker.

Instead, he was left in no man’s land marking nothing but air, and the Foxes ended up scoring an equaliser as a result.

If Davies had chosen to cover either Johnny Evans or Harvey Barnes the goal could have been avoided, as they linked up to find Youri Tielemans. Davies also failed to block the Belgian’s strike.

It is a little harsh to criticise Davies’ attacking weaknesses since his main strengths are in defence.

However, we have explained his underperformance in that area above and he needs to make improvements going forward too.

The examples above show Alexander Iwobi and Gylfi Sigurdsson cleverly finding space in and around the penalty box to score, and Davies must learn from them.

Too often he sits back and is unwilling to get involved.

For Iwobi’s goal against Wolves he is not even in frame, which highlights the lack of adventure in his play.

Carlo Ancelotti may be instructing him to protect the back four, but a player with more experience would be able to judge the flow of play and join the attack when required.

If the Toffees are to edge out opponents in close games and secure a top-four spot we need better options than Davies.

We are eagerly anticipating Allan’s return but considering he has been out since early December it is strange we have not made reinforcements.

Hopefully, we do not reflect on this transfer window as a missed opportunity.

In other Everton news, the Toffees have been handed a blow with Zirkzee ‘one step away’ from signing for Parma – report.