Farhad Moshiri and his Everton board backed Ronald Koeman to bring in an arsenal of summer signings that saw the club spend a net amount of £142.38m. Despite spending so heavily, they have failed to score regularly and the side was once threatened by relegation.
Tipped by many to challenge the ‘top six’, the Toffees were expected to fight for a European spot this time. Currently, Everton is fighting a battle of rejuvenation after having been to hell and back in the early few months of the season. The club has in no way thrown any sort of challenge to the top six in the first round of the Premier League. Their Thursday night outings in the Europa League were in sync with their disappointing domestic form with the Toffees claiming one win in six matches and ending their group stage second from bottom.
As their form slumped down through a never-ending spiral, it saw the hammer fall on their ex-boss Ronald Koeman. Koeman’s sacking did little to change the club’s fortunes as they became the league’s bashing boys. However, as the fans and pundits stood to wait for Everton to disappear into the lower leagues, the board appointed Sam Allardyce as the new manager.
Goodison Park has changed from a depressing arena of uncertainty to a place of tentative hope. A month back, Everton were the bogey side teams were craving to face. In the space of a few weeks, the scenario at Merseyside looks to be lifting. However, one player whose luck has not changed despite a change in manager is Davy Klaassen. In fact, the Dutch footballer’s time on the pitch has reduced even further under Big Sam and he could now be on his way out. Turkish club Fenerbahce is interested in taking him away on loan.
The 24-year old was the captain of the Ajax team that went to the finals of the Europa League last season and was brought in by Everton as a signing of great promise. However, with things falling down rapidly, he could now be headed for the exit, as was confirmed by Allardyce.
Big Sam said: “At this moment in time and from what we see, it hasn’t worked. The lad is prepared to fight for his place, but before I came and since I’ve been here, in all the other players, there seems to be more coming from them than there is from Davy. That’s a great shame. One, for the club and two, for the player. As a person and lad he’s a terrific young man, but at the moment, there’s not a place in the side for him. It’s like everyone who’s in this big squad if you get a chance, you need to be ready. You’ll get one chance, you won’t get any more.”
Although it would seem to be a sensible move now, Everton could well rue losing a player of Klassen’s quality. The Dutch player is only 24 and has a lot of time to turn his game around in football.
