Everton loanee Neal Maupay speaks out after Goodison Park exit
Neal Maupay has claimed that, while his confidence is low as a result of his poor goalscoring form, he believes in himself and feels the goals will come with time, while on loan at Brentford from Everton.
The striker has struggled for goals recently, scoring just one in his year at Goodison Park before he was sent out on loan to the West London club, but he believes he still has the quality.
Maupay has returned to a club where he previously scored goals in the Championship, and will be hoping the familiar setting allows him to rediscover his best form, under the watchful eye of everybody at Everton.
Speaking to the Evening Standard on 23 October, Maupay shared: “It’s a bit of everything. I haven’t scored in a while so confidence is low, but it’s coming. I need to keep playing well and hopefully, the goals will come.
“As a striker, it’s very frustrating and it is hard. I’ve scored goals all my life, so I just need a little bit of luck. Once I put that first goal in the back of the net then everything will be back to normal.”
The Frenchman was then asked whether the return of Ivan Toney in January is putting pressure on him to prove his worth, and he claimed: “Absolutely not. I’ve been here before, and the fans know my quality.
“Ivan is a top striker, and it would be good to have him back. But I’m Neal Maupay; I score goals as well.”
Everton hoping he finds his form
Sean Dyche and the rest of the senior staff at Everton will be hoping Maupay can find his best form before a return to Goodison Park, such is the benefit of having sent him out on loan rather than finding a permanent agreement.
The chances are, of course, that if he scores a bag of goals away from Merseyside, he will want to stay away. That could also benefit the Toffees, who will be looking to at least break even on the £10million they spent to bring him in from Brighton.
It feels like a win-win situation for Everton. If he scores plenty of goals, they either get back an in-form striker or sell him for a decent fee. If he doesn’t score many, at least his failings are palmed off onto another club rather than seeing his struggles continue to play out at Goodison Park.
His confidence is admirable if not a bit unfounded, but his hopes will align with all at Everton that he can find a rich vein of form this season.
In other Everton news, Alan Shearer has raged at a “stupid” Everton player after what he did.