Jean-Philippe Gbamin used wrong at Everton, set up to fail by Rafael Benitez
People who know him felt Jean-Philippe Gbamin was put in a difficult position on his solitary league start for Everton this season, reports The Athletic
The Ivorian midfielder was brought in for an unexpected start in a midfield two alongside Allan for the trip to Molineux to face Wolves in November.
But he was substituted at half-time with his side 2-0 down in a game they went on to lose, and barely featured for the Toffees thereafter until his loan move to CSKA Moscow this week.
The 26-year-old hadn’t featured since August before the defeat and Patrick Boyland writes in The Athletic: “The latter game raised eyebrows among some who know the player.
“It was felt in some circles that Gbamin had not been put in a position to succeed at Molineux, where he was brought in from the cold to play for the first time in over two months.
“Setting up with a central midfield two, Everton looked inadequately prepared for the tactical challenge that awaited.”
Nightmare
The £25million move in 2019 has gone just about as badly as it could have for the Ivorian international.
Injury problems wrecked his first two seasons at the club and it appears the working relationship between him and the previous manager was not particularly efficient.
Utilising Gbamin incorrectly would hardly be the only misstep the former Liverpool boss made during his time at Goodison, as his January removal attests to.
It hardly seems optimum to throw a player in such a situation into the starting XI in an away game after so long without match practice, and the half-time substitution cannot have done his confidence any good.
It doesn’t speak of great man-management to turn to a player as a last resort and then bomb him out when he doesn’t do well.
Gbamin doesn’t come out of the Wolves game with much credit but he appears to have just been collateral damage in a period that saw the team’s form go through the floor and the manager head towards the exit.
A temporary move away at this stage is likely the best thing for him to attempt to restore some fitness, form and confidence.
If that goes according to plan there may be a way back for him at Everton, otherwise it will have to go down as a regret for all involved and a new start will be necessary elsewhere.
In other Everton news, good news as one important Toffee is spotted back in training.