Brighton's Mats Wieffer is still adapting to the right back roleplaceholder image
Brighton's Mats Wieffer is still adapting to the right back role | Getty Images
David Moyes has been battling a lengthy injury list for most of the season but how do you replace Jack Grealish?
It's been one step forwards and one step back for David Moyes and Everton this season either in terms of results and performances or in terms of the players who he has available for selection.
What the Toffees boss didn't need was for Jack Grealish to get injured with the mercurial playmaker being referred for further investigation by the club having suffered a foot injury.
The on loan Man City forward might not be scoring goals or creating assists as often as he or his manager would like, but his overall play, attitude and ability to knit together everything in the final third has made a huge difference for a team with aspirations of European football. It would be a huge blow to lose the 30-year old for an extended period of time, but what it would do is given an opportunity for someone else.
How Everton can deal with Jack Grealish blow
Moyes has already spoken about expecting a quiet transfer window which would have made the club's statement on Grealish a sore one to take this week: “Jack is currently under the care of the club’s medical team and will also be reviewed by a specialist in the coming days. Further updates will be provided in due course.”
Fabrizio Romano then followed this up by claiming that a diagnosis had been reached despite other reports suggesting that Grealish was yet to see a specialist: “Understand Jack Grealish will be out for 3 months with stress fracture in his foot. 12 weeks out for Everton star as tests made today confirm long break and major blow for #EFC.”
What is clear, is that Moyes will have to resort to a plan B of sorts with the most obvious being to give Tyler Dibling a run of consistent games. The £35m summer signing has only made fleeting appearances although these have seen glimpses of what he might be capable of as he develops.
With Everton highly unlikely to get dragged into a relegation battle, the former Southampton youngster should be trusted. The only way that he can improve is by learning from his mistakes which he won't do on the bench.
A good example recently has been the form of Nathan Patterson, another who has a barely kicked a ball all season only to look assured in his natural right-back position instead of having to play James Garner or Jake O'Brien out of position.
Moyes' other option is to dip into the loan market and to one of the clubs who have a bigger squad looking to offload a player who is looking to get out and play in a world cup year. With a similar profile in terms of stature, why not ask Raheem Sterling the question? The Chelsea winger found himself out in the cold this season and has been reported as wanting a permanent move away from Stamford Bridge.
The only problem for Sterling is, nobody knows what sort of shape he is in having not played all season. Go to Everton, play, score goals, work hard, make the same sort of impression that Grealish has and, you never know, Thomas Tuchel might well pick an older and wiser head to go to the States, add to his 82-caps and land a permanent contract at a big club with European ambitions.
David Moyes praises Everton duo
Moyes might be down to the bare bones, however, this has given other players the chance to step up with the Blues boss picking out two individuals for praise after the win over Villa: "I always hoped Thierno [Barry] would come through. I don't think it's easy as a young player coming from overseas to the Premier League. Thierno has the even more difficult one of being a centre forward trying to score goals. I think we're going to have to give him time – there are lots of things that he needs to improve on greatly, so we're not getting carried away but he gets the winning goal today and if you do that in games, which is important, it means an awful lot.
"Then I think that Evertonians might have just started to see a bit more of Merlin Röhl today. I see quite a lot of it in training. He's been up and down a little bit and he's coming back from a hernia operation, so he's just beginning to get an idea of what the Premier League is like. He's got loads to improve on as well but if we're going to judge them so quickly then we're not going to give them an opportunity [to show their best].
"I say it because the people who have watched Everton for many years will know the likes of Leighton Baines, Joleon Lescott, Phil Jagielka – they all had to bide their time before they got regular games. I'm not saying it's exactly the same but if they go on to be as good as any of those players, that's what we want."
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