Davy Klaassen ‘wants to fight for his chance’ to impress at Goodison Park, according to his agent Soren Lerby.
Speaking to Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad, the Dutch agent revealed that Klaassen is “not satisfied with his role” but “wants to fight for his chance,” amid rumours he could depart Goodison Park this January.
Since being signed by former Everton boss Ronald Koeman in the summer, the former Ajax captain is yet to feature in the Premier League since the Dutchman was sacked by the club.
The 24-year-old has not appeared since the Blues’ 2-1 win over AFC Bournemouth at the back end of September.
In fact, he was last named in a matchday squad in the 5-2 home defeat against Arsenal that saw the end of Koeman’s reign.
The former Ajax captain has been linked with a return to Amsterdam this January with a loan being mooted by a number of parties. However, with new boss Sam Allardyce reluctant to let players leave on loan - it’s unlikely Klaassen will return to his homeland this month.
A role to play
With plenty of uncertainty around the Blues’ midfield options, there is certainly a role for Klaassen to play for Allardyce’s side - if given the chance.
Initially signed as a number ten, the 24-year-old has fallen to the wayside to allow fellow summer signings Wayne Rooney and Gylfi Sigurdsson to play that role.
The Dutchman doesn’t have the pace to be shoehorned out on the wing in a similar role to how Sigurdsson operates.
However, he could drop further back, as he did for Ajax and find that there is a role to play there.
None of Tom Davies, Idrissa Gueye or Morgan Schneiderlin have set the world alight playing in front of the backline and Klaassen’s ability on the ball may give him an edge, if the Blues look to begin trying to play out from the back again.
His instincts may be attacking based - a lot of his goals for Ajax came in and around the 18-yard-box - but he operated, plenty of times, as a pivot between the back line and his fellow midfielders.
It’s an option, and one Allardyce should definitely consider.
Not to be parted with just yet
Klaassen has been regularly named as one of the players that Everton could part with over the next three weeks if they want to do business.
The club is unlikely to make much money back on their initial €27 million, if any, but that doesn’t mean they should cut their losses just yet.
There are plenty of other ways to raise the money needed to offset transfer business during January - the £4 million loan fee for Kevin Mirallas is evidence of just that.