15 league goals, 54 key passes, 145 ball-recoveries: What Everton will need to replace if loan-stars leave

Follow us on Google Discover

Everton have benefited greatly from the impact of three loan players this season, but just how much will the club miss them if they depart?

Everton manager Roberto Martinez knows exactly how to use the loan market. Time and again, both for the Toffees and previously for Wigan, the Spaniard brought the right player in at the right time.

In recent quotes published by Sky Sports, Martinez said that he hoped to keep hold of his current crop of loan players, but that there was a contingency plan if that was not possible.

“The loan market is very important for us,” he said. “If we can keep those players great, if not then we will have to use the loan market again.

That statement came after he had hailed one of those loan stars – Romelu Lukaku – as “irreplaceable”. But he may have to at least try if the Belgian forward is recalled by Chelsea, or sold permanently elsewhere.

Similarly, Gerard Deulofeu could also be on his way, with quotes recently released in which he revealed he hoped to soon return to his parent-club.

“I am working every day to get back to Barcelona next season,” he reportedly told Catalunya Radio.

“My dream is to find a place in the Barcelona attacking line-up and to do that I am progressing in the Premier League.”

So what would Everton lose if both Lukaku and Deulofeu left at the end of the current campaign? Well the obvious is that they will lose both goals and assists. As you can see below, the pair have scored 12 Premier League goals and set up six between them. They have also made a total of 23 key passes in the league to date

Barry has also played his part, but there is a sense that he could remain at Goodison Park long after the Belgian and the Spaniard have departed. But for now he remains a Manchester City player, all be it one who has played an outstanding 31 key passes in the league for Everton.

But what else would Martinez have to replace if he lost the pair, or the trio if all three were to depart? From the table below you can see that Lukaku and Deulofeu have won 43 contests between them when coming up against opponents. They have also drawn 11 fouls and won 35 corners – statistics that cannot be underestimated when you consider the ability of Leighton Baines from dead-ball situations.

Then there is Barry, who has been a rock in the Toffees midfield, recovering the ball an impressive 145 times and making 30 interceptions in the league to date.

When you consider the impact the trio have already made, it is no surprise that Everton’s manager, and their fans, will be desperate to keep hold of them. But if they do not, something tells me Martinez will pull another rabbit or two out of his seemingly bottomless hat.

image: © Erik Daniel Drost