When Tyrique George joined Everton on loan in January, it seemed like it was less of a temporary farewell than an actual final goodbye — especially as the loan had a purchase option attached, thought to be in the region of just £20m.
And though George has impressed in his appearances on Merseyside, those appearances have been a bit hard to come by. He’s finished the half-season with just one start among eleven total appearances (no goals, no assists). That does sound a bit better when you consider
that there were only 13 possible appearances available to him (Everton crashed out of the FA Cup at the first hurdle and he was ineligible to face Chelsea in the league) — but his only start came early on and he was only used as a substitute for the last three months. Still more consistent playing time than he was getting at Chelsea, I suppose, but not significantly.
So it’s perhaps no surprise that Everton have not rushed into activating their option to make the move permanent. Manager David Moyes recently confirmed that stance, for both George and fellow loanee Jack Grealish.
“At the moment, they go back to their clubs and we’ll take it from there. As the summer goes on, we’ll decide what path we’re going to take on both of them. We like Tyrique, obviously we like Jack a lot — but we’ve not got an answer [yet].
“We’ve enjoyed having Tyrique here — he’s been an excellent boy and his work-rate and everything has been excellent, so we’re happy with him.”
-David Moyes; source: BBC
So as things stand, George will be among those turning up at Cobham this summer and lacing up their Bomb Squad boots. While unsubstantiated rumors have claimed that Xabi Alonso has spoken to the 20-year-old to assure him of his future, the BBC’s report flatly denies any such notion and instead expects Chelsea to cash in one way or another. Another Alejandro Garnacho acuquisition ain’t gonna fund itself!
