Possession ceded 231x: Everton "imposter" on £120k-p/w has looked "lost" this season - opinion

Everton are enduring a difficult campaign in the Premier League as they have been caught in a battle against relegation to the Championship.

The Toffees are currently one point above the drop zone and Frank Lampard will be hoping to successfully steer the club clear of a first relegation from the division.

In order to do that, he will need to turn around the fortunes of a number of players who have failed to deliver on the pitch this season.

One player who has struggled this term is Brazilian defensive midfielder Allan, who has not been able to kick on after his impressive 2020/21 showing.

BBC radio journalist Dave Downie previously claimed that he is an “imposter” when he plays away from Goodison Park and Toffees reporter Connor O’Neill said that he looked “a little lost” earlier this season.

Lost is certainly an apt word to describe Allan’s season as he has looked way off the pace at times and a shadow of the player he was in his first campaign with the club. In his debut season in England, he averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.81 and made 3.3 tackles per game – showing that he has the ability to perform at a solid level on a consistent basis in the Premier League.

The £120k-per-week dud’s performances have dropped off this term, averaging a SofaScore rating of 6.61 and making 2.8 tackles per game. He has been dribbled past 2.9 times per game, which is the most in the entire Premier League – 0.8 clear of second-placed Pierre Lees-Melou of Norwich.

Allan has also ceded possession to the opposition a whopping 231 times in 21 matches, completing 80% of his passes in central midfield. He has also lost 55% of his duels overall throughout the campaign, which suggests that he has been unable to impose himself physically in