Lukaku has been on-song in the Premier League this season, but Bolase’s absence could disrupt his rythm.
When your club has just spend £25 million (BBC) on a proven, Premier League winger, you’d be within your rights for expecting a grand total of four assists and one goal in 13 top flight games.
Then again, Everton should have known, based on indisputable evidence, that they were not playing big bucks for a player who would perform at his peak week in week out. Despite Alan Pardew’s protestations, Yannick Bolasie had the potential to be a £25 million world beater, but he wasn’t one yet.
His steam-train performances for former club Crystal Palace were far outnumbered by performances of total anonymity; Gareth Bale one day and Jesus Navas the next. For Everton, little has changed. His hair-pulling display against Manchester United was Bolasie at his infuriating worst. There’s only so many times you can shank a cross out of place before people start questioning your price tag.
Yet, Bolasie was a player for the future as much as a player for the present. Toffees boss Ronald Koeman will have hoped that, by the end of the season, his hefty transfer fee would start to look like a solid investment. However, with the Congolese flyer potentially ruled out for the remainder of the campaign with a cruciate ligament injury, he and Everton fans will have to wait a little while longer.
And what impact this has on Romelu Lukaku’s season remains to be seen. Once again the shining light for an Everton side whose momentum has stalled after a flying start, the Belgian has scored seven of his team’s 16 Premier League goals this season. Quite simply, when he’s off-form, The Toffees look toothless.
Therefore, the fact that Bolasie has assisted over half of Lukaku’s goals, a quarter of Everton’s as a whole, suggests the winger’s long-term absence could be even more damaging than initially expected.
From his stunning cross against Crystal Palace to his smart lay-off against West Ham, the relationship between scorer and provider has proved Everton’s most reliable source of goals this season, with their budding friendship off the pitch only cementing one of the Premier League’s most potent partnerships.
Consequently, Gerard Deulofeu, Ross Barkley and co will be required to step up in the coming months because, while Lukaku may be one of the most complete strikers in the top flight, he can’t be expected to do it all himself. Especially with his partner in crime locked away for the foreseeable future.
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