Jack Grealish can help Everton push for a place in Europe reckons former Blues striker Louis Saha
Everton are looking to beat Fulham on Saturday to ensure they don’t go winless between international breaks. But Jack Grealish has still been backed to fire the Blues into Europe this season.
When Grealish broke his scoring duck for Everton, netting a dramatic first-ever stoppage time winner at Hill Dickinson Stadium to complete a 2-1 comeback victory against Crystal Palace, the result left the Blues just one point behind the high-flying Eagles, with the FA Cup and Community Shield winners having looked to extend their six-month unbeaten run to 20 matches.
However, since returning to action, Everton have suffered back-to-back defeats to Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur and having missed several opportunities to extend their early lead at Sunderland on Monday, the 1-1 draw ultimately kept them in 14th place.
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The Blues were just one point above the relegation zone at the halfway point of last season when David Moyes returned. But an impressive run that included five away wins for a side that had triumphed on the road just once in the previous year saw them finish 13th, securing their top-flight status with five fixtures still to play.
During his first 11-year stint in charge at Goodison Park, Moyes steered Everton to nine top-eight finishes, including their highest-ever Premier League position of fourth in 2004/05 and one of his former players reckons they can be contending for continental competition again.
Speaking to OLBG, Louis Saha, who having been signed by Moyes, netted 35 goals in 115 games for the Blues between 2008-12, including one after just 25 seconds in the 2009 FA Cup final, and he played in a side that finished fifth, eighth and seventh in the Premier League in his three full seasons on Merseyside, reckons the 62-year-old’s summer acquisition of Grealish on loan from Man City remains the key.
The Parisian said: “Jack Grealish is an amazing player.
“He definitely has a better energy about him at the moment. He’s playing with very slick players as well. I love Iliman Ndiaye.
“It will help those instincts that Grealish had when he was at Aston Villa. I really think that whatever happened to him at Man City didn’t really help him to flourish on that side of his game.
“I think Everton understand that correctly, even if David Moyes tends to be a manager who is very demanding on both defensive and offensive. Grealish needs this freedom and if you can have someone who can assist 15-20 goals a season and be a bit more clinical, this is something that the manager needs to ask and even fans need to ask because he has this end product.
“If Everton and Grealish can get Barry on fire, it would be nice to see them being in the bracket to reach European football for next season.”