Can Jean-Philippe Gbamin help Everton turn their season around when he returns?

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Jean-Philippe Gbamin was brought to Everton during the summer transfer window to replace Idrissa Gueye, who left to join Paris Saint-Germain.

He was struck down by injury in August and Premier Injuries report he was ruled out for eight weeks at the time.

In the meantime, Marco Silva’s side have struggled to get their season off the ground and Gbamin may return to a side in a relegation battle.

But what are the chances he can come back and help Everton out of their current rut? We’ve run the rule over Everton’s summer business during the second international break of the campaign and he’s up next…

What’s the background?

BBC reported at the time that Gbamin signed for £25 million, with Everton replacing Gueye with a younger, more raw midfielder, while making £5 million in the process.

It was about a clear a case of a direct replacement as could be expected in the transfer window, with the amount of time Everton had to prepare for Gueye’s departure raising confidence in the quality of his successor.

Can he help Everton turn their season around?

It’s a tough ask for a player who is embarking on his first season in English football, aged just 23, and coming off the back of an injury blow that has stalled his progress.

But Everton will no doubt benefit from having the man they feel is capable of replacing Gueye back in the fold.

Silva is currently fielding Fabian Delph and Morgan Schneiderlin as a double pivot, which seems a tad cautious, so perhaps the return of Gbamin will encourage him to use more flair in there.

Everton didn’t concede a goal in either of the games Gbamin played in before his injury, so perhaps he did add some much-needed steel and ball-winning ability to the midfield.

Silva is struggling right now but one of his top players was sold this summer and the man he bought to replace him has been unavailable – which should act as mitigation to some degree.