In a recent interview with Football Insider, former Leeds United striker Noel Whelan shared his opinion on Theo Walcott’s future when he said, “It has been a mixed bag from Walcott at Everton.
“I thought it was a great signing at first, I thought it would work for both player and club but it has not. Injuries again, a lack of confidence and a lack of goals and assists.
“He still has a lot to offer but I do not think it is going to be at Everton unfortunately and I think now you have got to forget about the name and think about the player and what he has done or two seasons which is not enough.
“Right now, you say Theo Walcott and you think about the name and everything he has done at Arsenal. But you need to forget about the name right now because he has not done enough in two seasons whilst he has been at Everton.”
Walcott’s Growing Frustrations In The Premier League
Walcott has endured another frustrating season at Merseyside as he has failed to find a run of consistency with his performances down the right flank. He has often underperformed for the Toffees since arriving at the club from Arsenal back in 2018. The English speedster has gone on to make 79 appearances for the Merseyside club, registering ten goals and eight assists in the process. However, he has only been involved in four goals for Everton this term across all competitions, which indicates that his career has taken a turn for the worse.
Maybe, a summer switch away from Goodison Park could help Walcott get his career back on track. The 31-year-old has averaged 1.3 shots, 0.6 key passes and 0.6 dribbles per game in the Premier League this season (stats via whoscored). His numbers do not make a good reading so Carlo Ancelotti would be wise to sanction his departure this summer before he gets a chance to run down his contract and leave for free at the end of next season.
Does The Former Arsenal Attacker Have A Future At Everton?
Frequent injuries have hampered Walcott’s career in English football. Unfortunately, he failed to live up to his potential at Arsenal because of it. It has been a similar experience for the English winger at Merseyside so far. Even though Walcott can sometimes roll back the years by scoring or creating the odd goal now and then, the fact remains that he has struggled to be productive in the final third. Ancelotti had not managed to get the best out him in recent months before the current season came to a sudden halt because of the recent COVID-19 pandemic.
With each passing day, it looks increasingly unlikely that Walcott will be a part of Everton’s long-term plans. Therefore, Whelan makes a lot of sense when he tips the English wide player to part ways with the Toffees. Walcott is currently not good enough to get regular starts at Goodison Park. So Ancelotti should focus all his attention to cash in on him this summer before he walks out as a free agent next year.
The Italian tactician should use the money generated from his sale to bring in a suitable replacement before the start of the new campaign. The Toffees need to recruit a quality winger rather than settle for another injury-prone, underperforming player like Walcott in the off-season.
