Arouna Kone
After the departure of Antolin Alcaraz, Kone has claimed the prize of the most hated Everton player. The former Wigan frontman has never found his feet in the royal blue shirt and has spent most of his time on the sidelines with injury. People do seem to have forgotten that in an injury-free campaign where he had a consistent run of games, he scored 13 goals for Wigan in the season prior to joining us.
If that happens this season,through a Lukaku injury or dip in form, could we see the real Arouna Kone? At 31 years of age, with only one goal in two years, Kone is unlikely to provide sufficient competition for Romelu Lukaku and earn himself a new contract by the end of the season.
Steven Pienaar
Stanley Chou- Getty
Steven Pienaar missed 71% of last season due to injury, more than any other Everton player. Age really has caught up with the 33-year-old in recent years and even when he is fit, he is a shadow of his former self. The purchase of Gerard Deulofeu and the uprising of two young attacking midfielders in Conor McAleny and Kieran Dowell won’t have worked in Pienaar’s favour either. Therefore I would be very surprised to see him offered a new contract at the end of the season.
Darron Gibson
When I think injury prone, Darron Gibson immediately springs to mind. His whole career has been plagued with injuries and he has only played in 16 games out of a possible 95 in the Martinez era. For someone who has first class ability on the ball when he his occasionally fully fit, one can’t help but wonder just how good Darron could have been without all of his injuries.
But for me it is time to call it a day on Gibbo, with James McCarthy, Mo Besic and the recent addition of Tom Cleverley being the immediate future of the Everton midfield and the likes of Ryan Ledson, Liam Walsh and Joe Williams looking like exciting holding midfielders in the long run. An interesting stat that I’d like to get hold of is just how much money Gibson has “earned” whilst injured for the blues.
Bryan Oviedo
Oviedo has missed much of the past 18 months through injury as well, much like the two stated above. But unlike Pienaar and Gibson I wouldn’t call Oviedo injury prone, just unlucky. Injury prone players suffer recurring muscle and ligament injuries however Oviedo has had 3 broken bones (a double leg break vs Stevenage and a broken metatarsal).
It really has been extraordinary bad luck and hopefully he will be able to have a full, strong season and reward himself with a new contract at the end of it. With Luke Garbutt recently signing a long-term deal, the pressure is on for Bryan to show his worth or he will be shown the door instead. This is easier said than done with someone like Leighton Baines ahead of you, mind.
Leon Osman
Clive Brunskill- Getty
Despite being one of the most abused players on social media by the fans, the 34-year-old is still a valuable member of the team and a crucial member of the dressing room. It is highly unlikely that Ossie will leave unless he surprisingly gets shut out by Roberto this season. After all the service our vice captain has offered to the club, if he asks for a new contract, he’ll more than likely receive it.
Tony Hibbert
Similarly to Ossie, if Hibbert asks for a new contract, we will almost definitely give him one after the years of service he has given to the club. Unlike Osman however, Hibbo does well to even earn a place on the bench in the League Cup and has suffered a lot worse with injuries. At 34-years-old, with age against him, the nasty knee injury he suffered this summer in preseason could potentially sign off an early retirement for Hibbert.
Kevin Mirallas
A more surprising name on the list as Kevin Mirallas is unquestionably one of our best attacking players. There is no need to worry however, as the 27-year-old has a clause in his contract where we have the option to extend his deal by one year, and we have been heavily reported to do just that very soon.
Mark Runnacles – Getty
FUN FACT – 8 players missed more than 30% of last season due injury. 7 of those are the 7 that have a year left on their contract
U21 Players
Francisco Junior
The Portuguese centre midfielder is surprisingly still contracted to the club today. A once promising player has reportedly hung out with the wrong crowds behind the scenes and was more focused on the party lifestyle than the football pitch.
At 23-years-old and with only 1 appearance to his name (a 1-0 defeat to Leeds United in the Cup where he was substituted at half time) his future at Everton is highly questionable. With only a year left on his contract, he has recently been shipped out to Wigan on an initial one month loan, probably just to help reduce the wage bill.
Jindrich Stanek
Tipped to be the next Petr Cech, the 19-year-old goalkeeper was signed by Everton in the 2014 January transfer window. The first 18 months in the royal blue shirt haven’t quite gone to plan for the Czech goalkeeper, Russell Griffiths was mainly used as the U21 goalkeeper instead of Stanek and Griffiths was the one to grab the substitute goalkeeper spot in Tim Howard’s absence last season.
However, he seems to have worked hard over the summer as a strong first week in preseason earned him the 3rd goalkeeper spot in our squad for the Barclays Asia Trophy. Although the Toffees currently have 4 keepers in the U21 squad, so the club are under no pressure to tie him down. Whether he continues his competition with Griffiths in the U21s or goes out on loan, the pressure is on for Stanek to perform in order to earn himself a new contract.
Conor Grant
Grant has been a popular name on the lips of Everton fans as an example of the talent being produced at Finch Farm. Only time will tell whether he will join Rooney and Barkley or the likes of Baxter and Green.
Two years ago the centre midfielder made a breakthrough in preseason, but a back injury caused him to miss most of the season and potentially his Everton debut. Last season he was in the same position as this season, a year left on his contract and a year to prove his credentials. A steady first 6 months with the U21s and a strong end to the season on loan at Motherwell earned him a new contract this summer. However, the club must have their doubts as they only offered him a one year contract and he didn’t feature at all for the senior side in a pre-season where several other youngsters were given a chance. At 20 years of age, he has a massive season ahead if him if he wants to remain an Everton player.
Sam Byrne
The Irish striker joined Everton last summer after being released by Manchester United. The 20-year-old struggled in his first year and only made 3 appearances for the U21s as David Henen and Courtney Duffus were preferred over him. Similarly to Stanek and Grant, a successful season will obviously merit a new contract, but this one seems even less likely than the other two now that Henen’s move was made permanent.
