David Moyes’ blistering start back to life in the Everton dug-out feels like a very long time ago now.
Indeed, the Scotsman was just the antidote the Toffees needed after the wheels came off Sean Dyche’s miserable reign, with just two defeats picked up from his opening ten games back in charge of the Premier League titans last season, steering them comfortably away from relegation.
The Merseyside outfit is still six points clear of that dreaded relegation zone in the here and now, but there are concerns in the air at the Toffees all the same, with Everton only coming out on top with a win in the league once across their last five matches.
A 3-0 defeat at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday would have only added to those worries, as former Everton hero Richarlison stood out for Thomas Frank’s away side.
Richarlison's potential Everton return
Richarlison has often found his time at Tottenham Hotspur to be fraught with bumps, but he would put the game beyond all doubt on Sunday evening when heading into the path of Pape Matar Sarr to make it 3-0.
The passionate Brazilian only has 23 goals next to his name for Spurs from 104 total appearances, but recent reports – as perTEAMTalk – suggest that the North Londoners are willing to cash in on their one-time £60m buy in January, and that Everton are circling.
It would well be a masterstroke of a return as the Toffees attempt to feel comfortable about their striker options again.
CF
77
23 + 6
LW
51
24 + 8
RW
22
6 + 1
While Richarlison might be remembered most fondly by those on Merseyside for his gung-ho performances down either wing, it feels unlikely that the South American – despite his previous heroics at the club – would be able to displace the likes of Jack Grealish on his favoured left channel at the moment.
Consequently, he stands his best chance at making waves on his return as an out-and-out centre-forward, when assessing Richarlison’s previous goal tally as a striker at Everton, with 23 goals picked up from 77 outings, leading to one of his ex-managers at Goodison Park in Carlo Ancelotti, hailing him as a “fantastic” finisher of chances.
Despite murmurs that Spurs want to offload their hot-and-cold number nine in the coming months, he is also able to boast a healthy haul of three goals and two assists next to his name from nine clashes this season.
Bringing back such a former beloved figure could signal the end for Beto in Everton blue, with the Lisbon-born striker struggling once again to get going yesterday evening, to the dismay of his impatient fanbase.
Why Beto is on borrowed time at Everton
You would think a striker in Moyes’ current set-up would be licking their lips at the prospect of how many goals they could put away, with the likes of Iliman Ndiaye and the aforementioned Grealish tricky customers intent on putting chances on a plate for the chosen marksman leading the line.
Unfortunately for Moyes and Co. though, Beto often fluffs his lines when a golden opportunity comes his way, with the former Udinese striker desperately unlucky not to find the back of the net on Sunday evening, when an acrobatic effort in the second half – with the scoreline still standing at 2-0 – was somehow clawed away by an alert Guglielmo Vicario.
That’s about as good as it gets for the under-fire 27-year-old, however, with his minimal 14 touches of the ball meaning he often cut an isolated figure at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, so much so that Jordan Pickford even managed to accumulate more touches himself, having tallied up 36 in total.
With just one goal next to his name in the Premier League this season, it isn’t a great shock to read all the widespread backlash he is receiving for his recent dismal displays, with Everton-based podcaster Paul Brown stating at full-time that the goal-shy number nine is “hopeless”.
Moreover, another Toffees podcaster in the form of Steven Kelly also stated that the ongoing striker situation is “killing” Moyes’ side at the moment.
It really does look like Beto is on borrowed time on Merseyside, therefore, with his precarious position in the starting XI becoming ever more shaky if the passionate South American potentially returns to the blue half of Liverpool shortly.
