Neal Maupay now under pressure at Everton without obvious strengths – Michael Ball
Neal Maupay has to improve his Everton form with Dominic Calvert-Lewin likely out until after the World Cup, says Michael Ball.
The Frenchman arrived from Brighton late in the transfer window when the Toffees were often operating without a central striker.
And with the England international limping off injured from the the defeat to Leicester on Saturday (5 November) the ex-Seagulls man is going to be needed again, with Everton already struggling in attack, but former Toffee Ball isn’t clear what he excels at.
In his column for the Liverpool Echo on Monday night (7 November) he said: “Calvert-Lewin is probably not going to be available again now until after the World Cup. I said at the start of the season, did we really expect him to be able to play 40 games this year after the injuries he’s had?
“We didn’t replace Richarlison and went five games into the season with no striker and now with Calvert-Lewin not available again, there’s going to be a lot of pressure on Neal Maupay to start turning his form around.
“He got an early goal in his Everton career but I don’t know what he’s good at.
“He needs to start showing why he’s been brought to Everton Football Club. He looks strong, can he run in behind defenders?”
Time to shine
Maupay’s strengths are as much off the ball as on it, but when it is specific attacking output that needs to be boosted that doesn’t necessarily instil immediate confidence.
Frank Lampard will hope that the summer signing’s ability to hassle defenders in possession and wind them up will force mistakes that he and his teammates can take advantage of, since the option of fielding the two strikers together looks set to be off the table.
Having blown away Crystal Palace just three games ago, in a match where the team looked sharp going forward, it is a concern for the manager that things have turned so flat since.
With Calvert-Lewin potentially set for another spell on the sidelines the onus is on the likes of Maupay, Anthony Gordon, Dwight McNeil and Demarai Gray to step up.
They have all shown flashes this season, but none have been regular stand-outs so far, with Gordon starting the season strongly but trailing off.
The season is teetering between positive and negative at the moment, with every bad result putting a much gloomier slant on things, while wins suddenly lift the mood.
Back to back games against Bournemouth, in the Carabao Cup and the league, are all that’s left before the World Cup, at which point the first half of the campaign can be assessed as a whole with a view to address weaknesses in the January window.