Merlin Rohl blew his Everton chance vs Sunderland, ‘outstanding’ star has taken his place
Merlin Rohl wasted his opportunity in Everton’s dismal FA Cup exit against Sunderland.
Rohl started Everton’s 1-1 draw with the Black Cats, which saw the Blues knocked out of the cup by their fellow Premier League side.
Rohl has featured 10 times for the Toffees since joining from Freiburg on loan, with the obligation to buy him next summer.
However, his place in the pecking order is surely decided after what happened in the defeat at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Everton starlet has surely overtaken Rohl after Sunderland loss
Harrison Armstrong has impressed since returning to Everton, in stark comparison to the German midfielder, who has struggled.
That was evident in the cup defeat, as Armstrong proved that he should be ahead of Rohl in David Moyes’ plans.
The 18-year-old played the full 120 minutes, recording an 82 per cent pass accuracy, while Rohl featured for 86 minutes, and completed 81 per cent of his attempts, per Sofascore.
However, Armstrong was much more effective when the Blues went forward, completing 85 per cent of his passes in the opposition half, compared to Rohl’s 76 per cent.
Despite playing 34 minutes less, Rohl gave away possession 13 times, compared to Armstrong’s eight giveaways, which is damning for the 23-year-old.
In terms of defending, the German attempted three tackles but only won one, while the Englishman won both that he tried.
Armstrong also made nine recoveries to his teammates’ six, and won four of his five ground duels for an 80 per cent success rate.
Rohl, by comparison, won just six of the 12 ground duels that he contested, for a 50 per cent success rate.
Why Everton need to try to cancel Rohl obligation
The £17.3million obligation to buy Rohl looks like a huge mistake from the Blues at the moment.
The Germany Under-21 international has not shown enough to justify the fee, and if he came in permanently, it could block Armstrong’s chances.
John Eustace, who was manager of Derby County when Armstrong was on loan at Pride Park, labelled him as “outstanding.”
Moyes cannot afford to risk losing the most promising talent to come out of Finch Farm in recent memory by blowing that much money on a flop.