Baines says Everton must give Bolasie more freedom to play

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Yannick Bolasie has grown into his starting role at Everton in recent months.

Former Crystal Palace wide man Yannick Bolasie has become a regular starter at Everton under Sam Allardyce, and long serving left-back Leighton Baines believes the club will reap the benefits as they continue to put faith in the 28-year-old.

Bolasie has made 14 appearances so far this season, scoring only one goal, but he started his fifth game in a row when the Toffees drew 1-1 with Swansea last weekend. Since returning from injury, Bolasie has looked a real threat in the starting side under Allardyce and his performances have been a reminder why the club forked out £25million (BBC) for his services back in 2016.

Speaking to Everton TV, Everton stalwart Baines was highly complimentary of the Congolese winger, singling out the difficulties of returning from such a long injury lay-off as testament to his positive attitude, while going on to praise his teammate’s significant contribution to the attacking side of things, insisting that he is a great player to line up alongside.

“When you have that type of injury it is always going to take you a bit of time to get back up and running and get your legs back under you,” Baines told Everton TV.

“He has started to do that and is someone I know, that if I give him the ball, I just have to support him from behind. He is good to play with. He is always a threat for us and keeps the opposition full-backs busy.

“He has started to show [his confidence] on the pitch with the positivity in his play. That is the type of player he is. He is someone you have to allow to go and express himself.”

Having had such a disrupted Everton career to date, the Goodison Park faithful will be praying to see an uninterrupted campaign from start to finish from Bolasie next term, having shown more than enough glimpses of what he can contribute to the team.

Currently sitting in ninth, the Toffees have done well to salvage their season and avoid delving into the depths of the relegation battle and, with a few additions this summer, they could be a force to reckon with next term.