Joshua King to leave Everton

According to the official website of Everton FC, Yannick Bolasie, Theo Walcott, and Joshua King have left Everton after seeing out their contracts.

The report also states that U-23 players Josh Bowler, Dennis Adeniran, Matthew Pennington, Con Ouzounidis, Callum Connolly and Bobby Carroll will be released at the end of this month.

However, the one name that catches the eye is that of Joshua King. The striker joined the Toffees in February for a nominal fee and a 6-month contract but seems like he is set to depart Goodison Park in the summer (h/t Sky Sports). We explore why Everton should have reconsidered this decision.

Depth is needed

Everton don’t really have a ton of natural No.9s in their team apart from Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison. Even Richarlison started the season out as a winger and had to be used by Carlo Ancelotti as a striker when Everton played a formation with two strikers up top.

So in that case, the club needs to have options on the bench. The lack of depth was probably the reason why they made an approach to sign Joshua King from Bournemouth in the first place. And if Everton really want to win their first major trophy since 1995, depth in each position is to play an important role in that.

Was he given enough opportunities?

There is a case to be made for King to have had a second chance with the Toffees. Yes, he played in 11 league matches this season, but none of them were starts. Actually, 7 of those games saw him play less than 10 minutes and none of them saw King play even a single half of a game at a stretch.

Moreover, King found himself playing out wide at times, which is not his natural position. His 2018/19 season with Bournemouth in the Premier League, where he notched up 12 goals, saw him playing centrally as a striker or a second-striker. So the Toffees should have really tested him in that position first by giving him an extended run of minutes.

And King is not a Premier League flop by any means. He is, in fact, a pretty potent striker who is capable of coming up with goals on a regular basis, as evident in his 2016/17 season when he got 16 goals in the league. On top of that, he is just 29 years old and still has a fair few years of football left in him.

Other factors

Joshua King has left the club for free. That means the Toffees would not have had to shell out any transfer fee for him were they to keep him. This is the same striker that was eagerly pursued by Manchester United just last year.

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Another factor that should have been taken into consideration is the fact that Everton have to appoint a new boss, with Carlo Ancelotti leaving for Real Madrid. Any new manager that comes in could have a different approach and outlook towards the team. So it would have made sense for Everton to give King a second chance instead of letting him leave on a free transfer.