Everton stretched their unbeaten run in the Premier League on Saturday, drawing with West Ham United.
David Moyes picked up another point, with Jake O’Brien popping up late on to equalise for Everton.
Moyes applauded both the Everton and West Ham fans after the game, and in the end the Scot can be pleased to take a point against his former club.
The Toffees were not at their best at Goodison Park.
But there were still positives to take from the game. Everton fans felt Jake O’Brien played really well again, and Idrissa Gana Gueye continued to make a strong case for a new contract.
But there was also finally a return to action for Youssef Chermiti, who has spent most of the season injured.
It’s been a frustrating campaign for the Portuguese youngster, who suffered a foot injury last summer.
He had had a bright pre-season, but Chermiti has been on the sidelines for months.
But Chermiti recently returned to full training at Everton, and now, he’s set to play a part in these final weeks of the season. With Everton no longer threatened by relegation, one would suspect he’ll be featuring a fair bit.
Against West Ham, he came on for the final 15 minutes or so, replacing Beto – and some Everton fans liked what they saw.
Everton fans liked the look of Chermiti vs West Ham
It was another game without a goal for Beto, and potentially, there may soon be an opening for Chermiti to actually start games.
But he does also have Armando Broja to compete with.
But against West Ham, Chermiti was a livewire and unsettled the defenders.
It may be a few weeks until we see him actually thrown in from the start. But he did his cause no harm on Saturday, and some Evertonians are calling for him to get more involvement now.
Some also noticed that he looks bigger.
@EFCLyndon said: “Chermiti did his cause a world of good there. Another good cameo.”
@dan_mabon added: “Can’t lie I’d be extremely happy to watch Youseff Chermiti every week if it helped him develop! When he comes on he genuinely looks like our best striker.”
@BT_1878 said: “However, Chermiti was a handful and I quite liked what I saw from him had that presence of a striker that Beto unfortunately hadn’t had all game. I want to see more of him.”
@bigsimo79 said: “Chermiti looks like a player btw.”
A big couple of months for Chermiti
It was good to see Chermiti back playing for the Everton first-team, and the star can be pleased with his cameo at Goodison Park.
Beto’s purple patch now appears to be over, and there could be opportunities in the pipeline for the 20-year-old.
Thankfully, Everton are in a good position and need not worry about relegation.
This means Moyes can start holding auditions for players ahead of the summer – and Chermiti is someone he should be looking to get more minutes into.
Especially since Broja is set to head back to parent club Chelsea, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin may leave as a free agent.
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