Everton face Brighton on Saturday at Goodison Park.
Former Everton defender Michael Ball has urged Sam Allardyce in his Liverpool Echo column to consider handing ostracised Toffees duo Davy Klaassen or Nikola Vlasic against Brighton.
The Toffees play host to Chris Hughton’s impressive Seagulls on Saturday afternoon at Goodison Park, as they look to put a dismal run of form that has seen them win just two of their last 11 Premier League outings.
Netherlands international Klaassen, who cost a huge £25million in the summer from Dutch giants Ajax, has failed to feature in the Premier League since September while Croatian attacker Vlasic remains way down the pecking order.
But Ball, who played for Everton as well as Man City, Rangers and PSV Eindhoven, believes Allardyce should consider handing the duo a return to the senior side in order to freshen things up against Brighton.
“There has been very little positivity from myself or other pundits nationally for a long time,” Ball said. “Yes, we are getting points in home games but the performances have been nothing to write home about.
“So it is a big match for Big Sam. The players need to react. I want to see a settled team have a run of games and then if the players aren’t doing it, the outcasts should be given an opportunity.
“Why not throw Klaassen in there or Vlasic in there? They might give us a new lease of life because the players who have been getting selected aren’t doing the job.”
Klaassen turned out for Everton’s Under-23 side on Monday night, as the Toffees beat Swansea City’s second string 2-0 thanks to goals from Anthony Evans and Con Ouzounidis. He featured alongside defender Ramiro Funes Mori.
Vlasic has also found game time hard to come by, featuring just twice in 2018 with starts against Manchester United and West Bromwich Albion. He remains behind the likes of Gylfi Sigurdsson, Yannick Bolasie and Theo Walcott in the pecking order.
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