Yerry Mina was once again a notable absentee for Everton against Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend.
The defender has been sidelined since the 1-0 loss to Chelsea on the opening day of the season, but had initially returned to training and was believed to be making steady progress on his ankle injury with the hope of being involved at the weekend.
However, speaking to the media on Thursday afternoon, Blues boss Frank Lampard confirmed that the Colombia international now faces a longer wait for a return after picking up a 'small calf injury'.
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And Mina was the latest topic of discussion on our Royal Blue Podcast. Host Connor O’Neill was joined by Joe Thomas and Chris Beesley to talk about the defender and the fact he faces yet more time on the sidelines.
With the defender’s contract at Goodison Park set to expire in the summer, both Thomas and Beesley feel the centre-back’s future could well be away from Everton, and highlighted the signings of James Tarkowski and Conor Coady as why the centre-back won't be offered a new deal by the Blues.
“It is such a shame because what a big strong man he is. What a speciesism he looked when he first came to the club,” Beesley said.
“We had all seen him in the World Cup in Russia and he scored a couple of goals, including one against England, a header past Jordan Pickford.
“When he first came into the club we thought he would be a great asset for Everton. This young Colombian, who has come from Barcelona.
“Perhaps he wasn’t quite ready for them, but he could do a great job for Everton, and that has been the problem, when he has been fit he has played well for Everton.
“A lot of people would say he’s Everton’s most gifted centre-back, but when you contrast his ongoing problems with the fact they have got James Tarkowski and Conor Coady, two players who have hardly missed a single game between them.
“While Yerry Mina since he came to the club has played in less than half the Premier League fixtures. He just can’t be dependant on and it is sad.
“He obviously doesn't do it on purpose and there is no-one more frustrated than Yerry Mina, but he cannot be depended on. Even now with (Dominic) Calvert-Lewin, he’s had setbacks on his way back, but he’s not been at the levels thankfully Mina has been at.
“In the last year of his contract now and I think that ultimately that is why he is not going to be an Everton player come the end of the season because he can’t be depended on.”
Before Thomas added: “It won’t be an easy decision necessarily, but the reality is however good he is on his day when he is fit, those days don’t come along that often enough.
“Everton need a centre-back who can play 30_ games a season. In the centre of defence in front of the goalkeeper is probably the most important area for stability.
“So if you have got someone playing every other game, you are constantly having to swap and change and that doesn't make things easier.
“When you look at what Frank Lampard did over the course of the summer, he has obviously brought in James Tarkowski, who has played 30 plus Premier League games in each of the last five seasons for Burnley, and Conor Cody, who is on a loan, but Everton have the option to buy, and unless Conor Coady has a fall out with someone at Everton, which doesn't look like it is in his nature, or picks up an injury, it is very difficult to see why Everton wouldn’t exercise their option to buy him, especially for the price, which is well under £10m.
“Conor Coady, until was he dropped for Wolves’ first game of the season by Bruno Lage, and we all know what has happened to him since, had only missed one game, and that was due to Covid and not injury.
“All this makes it increasingly difficult to see how Yerry Mina has a place in this squad in the long term, unless things like wages drop and stuff like that and they can come to a deal whereby everybody is happy for him to be a squad player.”
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