The Everton veteran has struggled for form at Goodison Park this season.
Former Everton midfielder Leon Osman has been singing the praises of his former team-mate at Goodison Park Phil Jagielka.
The England international has been out of form recently but returned to the starting XI for the game against Arsenal last night – which Everton won.
However, he received a late red card which rules him out of the Merseyside derby on Monday night.
Everton’s Phil Jagielka
Osman spoke to talkSPORT this morning (14/12/2016) about that upcoming fixture and hebelieves Jagielka will be sorely missed:
“In my opinion, absolutely.
“He’s been getting a bit of criticism this season about performances.
“But when you’ve got a guy who is your captain and is influential as he is then, for me, he is going to be a massive miss.”
Jagielka certainly put in an improved performance last night but there is still no doubt that he is no longer at his best.
His performances for much of this season have been sub-par and Everton fans have been becoming more and more frustrated with his displays.
Leon Osman celebrates after scoring the first goal for Everton
Even against Arsenal, with the improvement to his game, he struggled. It was his silly foul that led to the first goal and he also found himself red carded.
At 34-years-old it could be that his age is finally starting to catch up on him and with that in mind Everton must start looking toward the future as soon as possible, possibly even in January.
Until then, Jagielka will have to continue doing his best in an Everton shirt and hoping it is enough.
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