This article is part of Football FanCast’sÂOpinionÂseries, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…
Everton returned to winning ways last weekend against West Ham United, with the club keeping just their third Premier League clean sheet of the season in the process.
Central to the success of the weekend result was the performance of Yerry Mina. The Colombian was a rock at the back and never gave the likes of Sebastien Haller a sniff in front of goal. However, as Sky Sports have reported, Mina could be set for a spell on the sidelines, as he is a doubt for the trip to Brighton & Hove Albion.
And Marco Silva appeared to confirm the bad news on Thursday in his press conference, revealing that Mina he hasn’t been in full first-team training so far this week.
Whilst this could force Mason Holgate into the starting XI, it should be the perfect time to thrust Lewis Gibson into the senior squad. Gibson is yet to make a senior appearance for Everton, although, the 19-year-old has been making a lot of noise in the youth academy.
The young England star won the U17s World Cup and also helped Everton’s U23s win the Premier League 2. However, Gibson is out of contract in the summer and could leave having not entered the first-team.
As shown by games recorded by Transfermarkt, Gibson is versatile and can play both right and left centre-back, whilst he has also dropped in at left-back. Being as versatile as he is, the Englishman could be vital going forward for Silva and prove himself as a valuable asset.
Injuries such as Mina’s could cause problems for the Toffees in the future and now is the perfect time for Gibson to come in and prevent such issues in the long run.
The former Newcastle man has proved his worth already in the youth setups for both club and country.
Plus, amid reported interest from the likes of Ajax, Gibson could end up moving away on a free.
Silva should use Mina’s injury as a chance to integrate him and this could be the youngster’s big chance to experience life in the senior matchday squad, even if he is merely spectating from the substitutes bench.
He’s never been called up to the senior squad before, but with Mina likely to be sidelined and no further senior back up players beyond Mason Holgate, this could be a landmark weekend in Gibson’s career.