This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
Former England international Paul Robinson has praised Everton’s recent hero Cenk Tosun, claiming the striker “brings something different” to the team.
What did he say?
Tosun snatched a point for Everton in the 97th minute against Tottenham Hotspur. This memorable goal was his first since he scored against Spurs back in May, and it is just his 10th at the club.
His equaliser showed grit and determination right until the final whistle, and Robinson believes the Turkey international has been unlucky not to start more often.
The former Spurs man told Football Insider: “He certainly delivered when he came on.
“Silva has chopped and changed his strike force and Tosun seems to be the one who hasn’t been given as much of a chance or as much game time as everybody else.
“But when he came on, he was a threat, he took his chance, it was a very very good typical Tosun goal.
“He works hard, he’s not the conventional No.9, but I think he took his chance, out of the four or five the manager has been rotating…he’s probably the unfortunate one, who hasn’t got the game time.
“He brings something different, he brings a threat at set-plays and as we saw with his goal, he is very good in the air.”
Time for a permanent role?
Tosun has proven down the years that his goalscoring abilities are of a high standard. Prior to his £27m move to Everton, the 28-year-old bagged 20 league goals for Besiktas in Turkey. In that 2016-17 season, his efforts helped defend Besiktas’ Super Lig title as he bagged 20 of the club’s 73 league goals.
Now, at Everton, Marco Silva must help him rediscover that form he showed back in his homeland, with other players not quite cutting it.
In truth, despite scoring five goals so far, Dominic Calvert-Lewin has not pulled his weight over the years. The Englishman has gone long periods without scoring and has only registered 22 goals in 105 appearances at Everton.
Silva must start to stick with an attacker now so they can start to build confidence and form – Tosun is that man.
