Ronald Koeman lauds Enner Valencia – Will on-loan Everton striker earn permanent deal?

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The forward impressed once again as The Toffees got back to winning ways.

Ronald Koeman has hailed the impact of Everton striker Enner Valencia against Southampton, claiming that the Ecuadorian ‘changed the game’, as reported by talkSPORT.

The striker came off the bench just past the hour mark to light up a hitherto dull encounter, scoring the opener and winning the penalty for the second as The Toffees turned on the style late on and cruise to a 3-0 home win.

The goal was Valencia’s first in an Everton shirt and ended a run of 11 scoreless Premier League appearances since he arrived on loan from West Ham United on deadline day.

Ronald Koeman has wasted no time in lauding the 27-year-old’s performance and, although he insists that the club have not yet decided whether or not to make his temporary deal permanent, Valencia has clearly gone some way to making up his manager’s mind.

“He can play a lot of different attacking positions and give the manager a lot of possibilities to change systems,” Koeman said after the comfortable win against his former club in quotes reported by talkSPORT.

“It is too early to make a final decision about his future but it was a good signing for us.

“We waited for an hour and I think at that stage we needed something different up front.

“He was one of the players who changed the game, scored the first goal and created difficulties for Southampton.”

The BBC reported in August that Everton have the option of signing Valencia on a permanent contract for £14.5 million and, while that appears a hefty fee for a player averaging a goal every 344 minutes this season, the South American has earned what many of The Toffees squad appear to lack – his manager’s trust.

In a season where Ross Barkley’s commitment has been publically slammed, where previous star men Gerard Deulofeu and Phil Jagielka have been dropped from the side, Valencia’s sprightly performances have clearly caught the Dutchman’s eye.

He had started the last four Premier League appearances prior to Monday’s win and, now that he has added goals to his game, he appears another step closer to earning that permanent deal.