Everton have sent Henry Onyekuru to Anderlecht on loan this season, but he is proving to be a star out wide – not in a striking role.
Despite a heavy defeat at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain, Everton loanee Henry Onyekuru impressed for Anderlecht in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
The Belgian side were a threat on the counter-attack throughout, with the teenager crucial to that, forcing a fine first-half save from Alphonse Areola and hitting the crossbar.
A pacy forward like Onyekuru is on paper what Ronald Koeman’s men need right now as they lack a goal threat and speed in the final third; so Everton fans will be eagerly awaiting his return to Goodison Park at the end of the season.
But the concern for Koeman and Everton is that he isn’t that centre forward they need, and that they already have players like Onyekuru on their books.
Ademola Lookman and Dominic Calvert-Lewin are both pacy forwards who despite being able to play across the attacking line, spending most of their time out wide; Onyekuru, similarly, has made a left-sided role his own in Belgium.
Everton have made the mistake of overstocking the creative midfield position – with Wayne Rooney, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Davy Klaassen stepping on one another’s toes – and now it appears they will again have three very similar players in another role.
The Toffees can hardly complain with the form Onyekuru is showing, but he is still perhaps not the answer to all their problems as they lack a centre forward.
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