Exclusive: Kevin Campbell – Everton should give Gbamin game-time before season-end
We’re delighted to welcome former Everton striker Kevin Campbell as our exclusive columnist. Each week the former Toffees captain will be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Goodison Park…
Kevin Campbell wants to see Jean-Philippe Gbamin play for Everton before the end of the season as the midfielder approaches a first-team return.
Gbamin’s two years with the Blues have been massively affected by injuries with the player’s last Everton outing coming in August 17, 2019.
He still only has two Everton appearances to his name and despite Carlo Ancelotti saying that he has been getting close to a return for the majority of the season, we are still yet to see him.
Campbell would love to see the midfielder boost his chances of playing regularly next season by making an appearance before the end of this campaign.
“He’s a had a terrible time on Merseyside so far,” Campbell exclusively told Goodison News.
“I wish the young man well, I want him to get his training in and get some game time under his belt with the under 23s.
“It would be good to see him before the end of the season even if that’s just a sub appearance.
“That would be a good shot in the arm for him to come back next season and stake a place in the team.”
It is often said that when players return from injury they are like a new signing – this will never have been more accurate than with Gbamin when he finally returns.
There were encouraging signs from the Frenchman on his debut though you can be forgiven for not remembering the 45 minutes he played against Crystal Palace in August 2019.
We need greater depth in our midfield and Gbamin could provide that once he returns to full fitness though how he will have been affected by his long-term layoff remains to be seen.
Hopefully, we get a glimpse of our forgotten man before the end of the season to see if he still has the potential to be an important player for us.
In other Everton news, the Toffees have emerged as frontrunners to sign Lucas Vasquez this summer.