EVERTON HAVE FOUND THEIR LATEST GEM IN FLAMENGO LOANEE CARLOS ALCARAZ - NOW DAVID MOYES MUST DECIDE IF HE'S READY FOR THE MERSEYSIDE DERBY, WRITES JOE BERNSTEIN
- Alcaraz starred in a debut cameo off the bench for the Toffees in the FA Cup
- The Argentine is now in contention for a first start against Liverpool in midweek
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Some of Everton’s recruitment has been derided in recent years but they may have found a good ‘un in 22-year-old midfielder Carlos Alcaraz.
After the Argentine made an impressive debut off the bench following his January loan move from Flamengo, David Moyes now has the big decision whether to throw his new arrival into the heat of a Merseyside derby at Goodison on Wednesday from the start.
Certainly, Alcaraz made a major impact on Saturday. Before his introduction midway through the second half, Everton created nothing and deservedly trailed to goals from Antoine Semenyo (pen) and Daniel Jebbison.
Afterwards, they hit the woodwork three times and were unlucky not to score. The first occasion saw Alcaraz surge past two players and win a free-kick which he then took and curled against the post. The Blues will be glad to have an option to buy at the end of the season.
‘He gave us a different element,’ acknowledged Moyes. ‘He gives us more options, which makes us more unpredictable as well. I was pleased with what he showed and it was a great effort with a free-kick.
‘If I’m being really honest, he’s here mainly because he was available. The recruitment team knew about him and I also knew about him from his time at Southampton. I thought he’s started really well.’
Bournemouth’s recruitment has been the envy of the rest of the Premier League for a while. Semenyo was the best player on the park as The Cherries reached the fifth round. He cost £10million from Bristol City and is now worth four times that with Chelsea sniffing around.
‘It’s a dream of mine personally to play at Wembley and the team would love to have a cup run,’ he said. Without a pun being intended, he then added: ‘I think it would be the cherry on top of the cake for us.’
Read more 2025-02-09T17:20:34Z