Allardyce admits he was surprised that Davy Klaassen did not leave in January

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The Everton ace has struggled to establish himself at Goodison Park.

Toffees boss Sam Allardyce addressed the media during his pre-match press conference today, and admitted his surprise at the fact that Davy Klaassen chose not to join Napoli on loan for the remainder of the campaign, as quoted by the Daily Mail.

The 24-year-old signed for Everton from Ajax in the summer of 2017, for a fee believed to be worth in the region of £23.6 million, but has really struggled to establish himself at Goodison Park, failing to record either a goal or an assist in 10 outings in all competitions thus far.

The 24-year-old was offered the chance to leave Merseyside on loan for the remainder on the campaign, but eventually remained with the Blues, in the hope of forcing his way back into Sam Allardyce’s plans.

The 63-year-old spoke to reporters during his pre-match press conference today, and admitted that he was surprised to see the Dutchman stay at Goodison Park, rather than join the Serie A side, as quoted by the Daily Mail:

“He’s a super professional and a super lad, and he comes in and tries his best in training on every occasion. I just think the opportunity for him to go out on loan was missed by everybody that wanted a player of his calibre. I’d have thought he’d go back to Europe somewhere. Because generally that’s what happens with European players, they can easily to get into Europe because the reputation they have got there. But didn’t happen. I don’t know the exact reason why it didn’t happen. I am not actually sure of the full detail of it, but it didn’t seem the normal sort of problem to stop a transfer going through. But obviously that happened and he’s still here.”

Allardyce has a massive squad at his disposal, and with the likes of Wayne Rooney and Gylfi Sigurdsson currently ahead of Klaassen in the pecking order for the number 10 role, the Dutchman will have his work cut-out, if he hopes to achieve regular first-team football for the remainder of the campaign.