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Everton Women expert regrets injury fortunes of departed striker Valerie Gauvin
We’re delighted to welcome Peter MacFarlane, member of the Everton Women Official Supporters Club, as our exclusive Everton Women expert.
After a difficult season Everton Women expert Peter MacFarlane has assessed the moves that have already happened ahead of a likely summer of change.
Caretaker manager Chris Roberts has long-said he wasn’t planning to take on the role full time, and Brian Sorensen has since been appointed from Fortuna Hjorring.
And French international Valerie Gauvin recently completed a transfer to North Carolina Courage after an injury-ravaged spell on Merseyside that saw her score five goals in 26 games across 18 months.
Speaking exclusively to Goodison News MacFarlane said: “The summer brings fresh hope for this Everton side, with new manager Brian Sorensen no doubt monitoring the side closely from the outside as he prepares to take the reigns.
“And with a number of players out of contract in the summer I’m sure we will see a lot of movement in and out as Sorensen looks to make his mark.
“The final games are giving these players the chance to show the new manager their worth, albeit from a distance, and I’m sure they have been eager to give it their all to prove that they deserve to remain at the club.
“One player who has already departed recently is Valerie Gauvin. Valerie really did hit the ground running when she first signed for the club in the summer of 2020, scoring in both the quarter final and final of the FA Cup.
“But unfortunately an injury sustained just before the FA Cup final, which was then exacerbated during the final itself, really set her back and she never really fully recovered or recaptured her early form.
“It’s such a shame as I believe that Val really is a top centre forward, but maybe as one of the highest earners at the club, and not playing as much as we or she would’ve liked, it made sense for Valerie to move on.
“We certainly wish her the best in her career and hope that she can rediscover that form which made her one of the deadliest centre forwards in the league when she first signed.“
A genuinely top level talent, it is a major disappointment that Gauvin’s time with the Toffees was so blighted by poor injury luck.
The run to the 2020 FA Cup final will be the defining feature of her spell in blue, but also perhaps her downfall.
The 25-year-old will now hope to get her club career back on track in that NWSL.
In other Everton news, a Super Computer has made a major change of relegation prediction for the Toffees men’s side.
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