Everton’s Tom Davies has gone backward since Manchester City masterclass

Add as preferred source on Google

With Morgan Schneiderlin out injured for Everton’s weekend clash with Bournemouth, a chance arose for others to stake their claim for a first-team spot in the Everton midfield. Homegrown talent Tom Davies was the man who got the call.

The 20-year-old is considered one of the biggest talents at Everton. He justified this hyperbole in January 2017. He put Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City to the sword in a refreshing midfield display that had City chasing him around Goodison Park. Everton won 4-0 and Davies scored a sumptuous goal.

But since then, Davies has hardly set the world alight. He has certainly not met the same level since.

In recent months, most the headlines surrounding Tom Davies involved his rockstar fashion style or skateboarding around the streets of Liverpool in his time off.

Such antics may give him cult status, but on the pitch, he quite literally needs to pull his socks up, another of his little gimmicks.

Davies struggled to have an influence against Bournemouth. Too often he picks the wrong option or seems to go missing in games.

A lot of it can not be blamed on the player. In some of his most important developmental years, he has been left floundering. Ronald Koeman’s exit, the subsequent debacle and Sam Allardyce’s arrival left Davies in limbo.

The real question is, what midfielder is he? Box-to-box, holding, playmaker? Nobody seems to have rubber-stamped his best role.

There is undoubted talent there. But with the likes of Callum Connolly, Joe Williams and Kieran Dowell also coming through the ranks, Davies needs to up his game.

Hopefully, Marco Silva can identify his niche and have the midfielder flying for the Toffees soon.