Gary Neville honestly claimed that he hopes James Rodriguez plays for Everton in their EFL Cup tie against Salford on Wednesday night, as he told Sky Sports (13/09/20 at 6:20 pm).
The Salford co-owner labelled Rodriguez as a ‘class’ player and even joked that he will be out the night before the game because the clash against the League Two side will be an ‘easy one’ for him.
Whilst Rodriguez didn’t get on the scoresheet or assist on his debut, he was mightly impressive and his arrival to English football has brought a level of excitement to these shores.
Neville was first asked whether Everton will strike fear into Salford after he watched them in action during their 1-0 win over Spurs on Sunday.
“Noooo, noooo” Neville told Sky Sports.
It is then put to Neville that Ancelotti is saving Theo Walcott, Bernard and Moise Kean for Salford and he responded by saying: “James Rodriguez, he’ll be out Tuesday night before that game on Wednesday thinking ‘this is the easy one for me’.
“I hope he plays. Our left-back might not – very, very good [on his debut]. Different level on the ball. Class.”
Everton’s opening fixtures of the 2020/21 season
- Tottenham (A)
September 12
- West Brom (H)
September 19
- Crystal Palace (A)
September 26
- Brighton (H)
October 3
- Liverpool (H)
October 17
- Southampton (A)
October 26
Ancelotti hasn’t be appointed by Everton to just help them get back into Europe, but also help end their trophy drought.
The League Cup is an ideal competiton for the Merseyside club to target and even with a weakened team, they should be able to see past Salford.
It will be interesting to see if Rodriguez does play because he needs the game time in his legs.
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