Morgan Schneiderlin was a shoo-in for the transfer list in the summer only a few weeks ago, but the Frenchman has miraculously managed to salvage some hopes of an Everton future.
His shock start on the road at Cardiff was his first outing since the humbling at home to Tottenham just before Christmas, and impressed the boss so much that Marco Silva kept the 29-year-old in the side to face Liverpool, where again he topped all expectations.
The Manchester United flop did not do enough, though, to convince Silva to offer him another chance at Newcastle or a start against Chelsea, yet he was seen as the first man he turned to from the bench when substitutes were considered on Sunday.
The sudden re-emergence of Schneiderlin in the first-team has even got fans on the R/Everton Reddit discussing whether or not he should be in the starting XI more often, let alone having a future at Goodison Park.
If you look at his stats from Sunday’s win, however, you would lean towards keeping the 6 foot 2 defensive midfielder on the bench going forward, as he could only record one accurate pass after replacing Andre Gomes.
Schneiderlin also failed to record a single successful tackle or win an aerial duel, but did manage an interception against Maurizio Sarri’s Champions League-chasers.
Stats like those are why fans on Reddit were so split…
Schneiderlin… from r/Everton