Anwar El Ghazi joined fellow Premier League club, Everton, on loan from Aston Villa in the January transfer window. But the move has not really gone to plan as gone for the Dutch forward. Anwar El Ghazi has featured in just nine minutes of league action under new Everton manager Frank Lampard. He made a late cameo off the bench in the 3-0 Premier League win over Leeds United.
While Aston Villa had a pretty successful January transfer window with Steven Gerrard at the helm. The club signed Lucas Digne and Calum Chambers on permanent deals. While Philippe Coutinho and Robin Olsen joined the club on loan. El Ghazi made only three appearances for Aston Villa since the appointment of Steven Gerrard. The forward was ultimately on the wrong end of the stick and was allowed to go out on loan to find some game time.
Everton signed El Ghazi on loan with Rafael Benítez at the helm. But the Spanish manager was sacked midway through December after the club’s form failed to pick up. Frank Lampard was given the job and he signed Dele Alli on a permanent deal from Tottenham Hotspurs and Donny van de Beek on loan from Manchester United. With this, it looks like the Dutch winger will struggle for game-time yet again and will return to Aston Villa in the summer.
Does Anwar El Ghazi still have a future at Aston Villa?
El Ghazi has been a very good servant for Aston Villa. He has made a total of 119 appearances in all competitions for the Premier League club. In this time he has recorded 26 goals and 16 assists in all competitions. (stats via Transfermarkt)
Philippe Coutinho has been in decent form since signing for the Premier League outfit. The Brazilian midfielder has recorded an impressive two goals and two assists in just five Premier League matches this term. The villains also have an option to make the loan deal permanent in the summer. Reports coming out of Villa Park suggest that Villa intends to negotiate with Barcelona to lower the transfer fee and sign the midfielder in the summer.
Anwar El Ghazi may be used as a make way to get in a decent transfer fee to reinvest into the squad. The Dutch forward may also look for a permanent move away from Villa Park in favor of some much-needed game time and get his career back on track.
Follow us on Twitter for regular football updates.
