Everton made eight new signings over the summer and whilst there were many players who have made huge improvements at Goodison Park there was an outgoing transfer that was without a doubt going to weaken the squad.
Richarlison was sold for £60m to Tottenham Hotspur in the early stages of the transfer window so that Everton could recover from some of their financial struggles. Unsurprisingly, the departure of last season’s top goal-scorer has had an adverse effect on the attacking threat in the team.
Despite signing Neal Maupay and Dwight McNeil in order to strengthen the forward line, replacing a player like the Brazilian winger was never going to be an easy task or a task that could be completed within one transfer window.
Richarlison scored 53 goals and delivered 14 assists over his 152 appearances for the Toffees with a goal contribution every 184 minutes, an output that has not been replaced and the goal-shy approach to games this season is starting to take its toll.
After 11 Premier League outings, Everton have netted just eight times, with a conversion rate of a shocking 7%. When you compare that to the average over last season when the team faced a difficult relegation scrap they scored 1.1 goals per game and had a conversion rate of 10%.
As a result, there is no doubt that the Merseysiders are missing the Brazil international’s attacking threat. That said, there is now a player they are clearly missing much more.
Nathan Patterson sustained an injury whilst on international duty with Scotland last month and was stretchered off during a game against Ukraine. Since then, he has been unavailable for selection Everton.
Ahead of the talented right-back’s injury, the Toffees had gone five games unbeaten with Patterson playing 90 minutes over each game and following his setback, the side have lost three out of their four fixtures without him.
Patterson has been a standout over the season so far for Everton and when you consider his output across seven league appearances, it is no wonder he is such a big miss.
The Scottish ace has created one big chance, made 1.3 interceptions, 2.7 clearances and won a whopping four tackles per game, as well as completing 60% of his duels combined, proving that he has been a solid defensive presence.
The 6-foot star was hailed a “diamond” by Danny Murphy on Match of the Day for his performance in the 0-0 Merseyside derby stalemate:
“He is only 20, he came in January, physically, he is very, very good.
“He is a diamond, they really have got themselves a good player in the market. He is a terrific young player.”
With that being said, Lampard will be desperate for Patterson to make his return to action as soon as possible now that Everton are clearly struggling without the youngster’s presence in the backline.
from FootballFanCast.com https://ift.tt/waK1MyH
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