Trevor Sinclair believes Everton have a big problem regarding their squad depth and questioned the fitness of striker Salomon Rondon after the Carabao Cup defeat to Queens Park Rangers, speaking to talkSPORT (22 September, 10.15am).
Considering Everton have spent almost £500 million on transfer fees since Farhad Moshiri took over as the club’s majority shareholder in 2016, you’d think the Merseyside giants would have top-level talent coming out of their ears.
But, crashing out of the cup after a dismal performance against Championship opposition on Tuesday night, that’s clearly not the case.
The likes of Jonjoe Kenny, Tom Davies, Alex Iwobi and Andre Gomes fell mightily short of expectations in west London while Rondon, the 32-year-old striker snapped up after two seasons in China, hasn’t exactly hit the ground running, even if quality service has been in short supply.
“I think Rafa Benitez would have wanted to have a good cup run,” says Sinclair, the former QPR and England winger.
“The problem is they’ve got key players out and the players that have come in – because the recruitment of the club hasn’t been good enough and because James Rodriguez has decided he wants to play in Qatar – aren’t quite to that level.”
Summer signing Andros Townsend did impress at QPR, scoring one and setting up the other for Lucas Digne.
If the rest of Benitez’s charges had performed with such intensity and desire perhaps Everton, rather than Mark Warburton’s Rangers, would be preparing for a fourth-round clash with third-tier Sunderland.
Sinclair: Salomon Rondon ‘doesn’t look fit’
“(Everton) have got a problem with the depth of the squad. You bring in players like Townsend, who’s got quality, they’re playing week in, week out! They’ve got to rotate at some stage and they’ve not been good enough to beat Queens Park Rangers,” Sinclair adds.
“Rondon doesn’t look fit. You’ve got Dominic Calvert-Lewin who’s injured, Richarlison injured, (Jordan) Pickford’s out, players coming in to replace these first-choice players aren’t as good.
“I feel Rafa has got serious injury problems – and QPR were just too much for Everton on the day.”
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
