Nigerian international Alex Iwobi is increasingly looking to be on the out at Carlo Ancelotti’s Everton.
Everton were on the receiving end of a 2-0 defeat against Premier League side Southampton at the weekend, breaking their unbeaten run – with Iwobi being dragged off at half-time by the veteran Italian tactician.
Being substituted at half-time is not exactly a glowing endorsement of a player’s performance and will come as a regrettable blow to Iwobi’s confidence.
Iwobi has appeared to be outside of Ancelotti’s preferred core of players – he has only appeared 5 times (only starting once against the Saints), with no goals, one assist and just an average of 12 passes per game to his name.
His performance over the 2019/20 season was hardly much better; he scored only a lone goal and created no assists in 25 appearances.
That should be ugly reading for all concerned. It should be expected that Ancelotti would call upon Bernard and Anthony Gordon for future games off the basis of his choices against the Saints.
Indeed, the former Arsenal man may well be better off putting his time on Merseyside behind him. At just 24 years of age, Iwobi has some of his best years ahead of him, and there is still ample opportunity for him to revitalise his career.
Former England international Paul Robinson has also tipped Alex Iwobi to suffer further difficulty breaking into Carlo Ancelotti’s plans going forward, insisting that the attacker ‘did not take’ his chance as he filled in the absence of the suspended Richarlison.
Speaking to Football Insider on the Toffee’s ‘very disappointing’ loss, Robinson noted how Iwobi was ungraciously substituted off at half-time for Richarlison’s Brazilian compatriot Bernard. Robinson viewed that moment as indicative of Iwobi’s long-run Everton future, saying it ‘tells you a lot’ about the manager’s thoughts on the player.
If Ancelotti’s latest public show of a lack of faith is indicative of anything, it is that Iwobi is increasingly out of favour at Goodison Park.
It would be cruel to claim Iwobi is simply finished at Everton; instead, a move elsewhere on loan may be a mutually beneficial move for club and player as they look to offer an avenue for Iwobi to find his form. All it would take is regular gametime and plenty of goal involvements for Iwobi to be returning to his best.
