Injuries have been one of the key factors in Everton’s inconsistency this season, according to midfielder Allan.
Speaking to ESPN Brasil (h/t Sport Witness), the Brazilian reflected on his first term in English football and outlined some of the problems the team have encountered in a campaign where they are likely to fall just short in their fight for European football.
“This season we had a lot of players with injuries,” he said. “This team had to change a lot.
“I think a little more continuity, having the mentality of thinking game by game, always the next game is the most important…leaving things behind suddenly. We had moments where we had four victories in a row and it ended up that suddenly there was a moment of relaxation.”
Allan himself has suffered with injury problems this term and missed a three-month spell between December and March after picking up a hamstring problem against Leicester City. A couple of other niggles have kept him out of contention on occasion too.
When he’s been available this term, Allan has had a positive impact on the team with his strong running, smart use of the ball and tenacity in the tackle.
However, his own struggles for fitness have made it difficult to forge relationships with other players in the team, as it has been for team-mates to forge relationships with him. The same issue has been there for James Rodriguez, who like Allan arrived last summer and has had his debut campaign punctured by niggles.
The hope for Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti is that key players like the two aforementioned will be better conditioned for Premier League football next season after a year in it. However, given Allan is 30 and Rodriguez is 29, their minutes will likely need to be managed more and more.
It makes all the more important that Everton bring in younger and more durable players next season. Not only to bolster the squad in important areas, but take some pressure off players like Allan who are edging towards the end of the peak years of their career.