According to journalist Tony Scott, Everton striker Ellis Simms is not good enough to play Premier League football.
The 22-year-old striker had a productive start to the season, scoring seven goals and providing two assists in 17 games for Sunderland in the Championship.
He was later recalled to Goodison Park in January as Everton were embroiled in a relegation scrap, with the club eager to bring the striker back to add extra firepower to their survival bid.
Simms, however, has had only 15 minutes of action for the Toffees since his return and has been an unused substitute in their last two games
Scott asked on the All Together Now Everton Podcast how Everton would deal with Dominic Calvert-potential Lewin’s absence against Liverpool on Monday night, with Dyche claiming his main man is “touch-and-go” ahead of the Merseyside derby.
“[If] Ellis Simms plays up front – yeah, he’s a big lad, but he’s not good enough,” Scott said of Simms’ potential prospects. We’ve seen that he’s not good enough at this level.
“He’d be a physical presence, he’d be annoying, but he’s not going to hold the ball up. He’s not got [what] Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s got in winning fouls, winning free kicks, holding the ball up, running the channels.”
If Calvert-Lewin is unavailable for the Merseyside clash at Anfield, then the striking options for Sean Dyche are Simms and the so far hopeless summer arrival Neal Maupay, who’s netted just once all season.
22-year-old Simms could therefore be poised to prove his doubters wrong and kickstart his Everton career, with the youngster proving he does have an eye for goal following his spell in the Championship, as well as with Blackpool in League One and Hearts who he bagged 10 and seven respectively for in loan spells.
Simms is currently in the top 14% for goals amongst forwards playing at a similar level to him over the past year (as per FBref), as well as being in the top 19% for aerials won and 26% for assists. So his stats do show that Scott has maybe jumped the gun on the youngster, who’s yet to have a fair crack at Everton.
