Stewart Gardner waxes lyrical of Everton midfielder Fabian Delph
Everton midfielder Fabian Delph impressed Stewart Gardner in the Toffees' 4-0 defeat against Manchester United on Saturday.
The Merseyside outfit looked hapless all through the game and failed to match up to the speed and intensity of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side.
Most of the Everton players underperformed, but Gardner, who was the co-commentator for the game on MUTV, was impressed with Delph's performance after he came on at half-time.
During the second half of the contest, the MUTV commentator said [07/08/2021, 14:05], "Delph has had a ferocious number of injuries. But today, he's added a bit of bite in the Everton midfield.
"I'm expecting him to have a good season ahead."
Hope he stays fit
Technically, Delph is not the best of players, but he's like a Swiss army knife who offers the manager the option of deploying him in a plethora of positions.
He can play in defence, in a deep-lying midfield role or even as an advanced player looking to set up chances for the attackers.
A lot of credit for his development must go to Pep Guardiola as he's moulded the player during his days at the Etihad Stadium, but it's now time for Rafa Benitez and Everton to reap the rewards of it.
If we're not signing a central midfielder this summer, Delph is gonna come in handy at different junctures through the season and could offer a good backup to the likes of Allan and Abdoulaye Doucoure.
We're not making a case for him to play in every game, but if he's fit he's certainly going to be in Benitez's plans and is very likely to be named on the bench for most of the games he's available.
That said, we desperately need some more numbers in the middle of the park and Marcel Brands must get on the phone as soon as possible and sign a quality midfielder this summer.