Merlin Rohl captured the attention of Everton supporters with his performance against Manchester City. His selection was unexpected, given his absence from the starting XI for almost four months. His raw pace caused problems for the title challengers’ defence in a display that saw him excel in both attack and defence.
The Germany youth international is a central midfielder by trade, but played that game on the right wing. His selection was partly to restrict Nico O’Reilly’s threat from left-back, but he ended up causing issues himself. His performance also highlighted the problem Everton are trying to solve: with his range of attributes, what is his best position?
Moyes’ Trust and Baines’ Influence
One of the most notable comments after the game was Rohl’s claim that he had the trust of David Moyes. This seemed at odds with his lack of playing time since his performance in the win at Aston Villa in mid-January.
When asked how he managed to build that relationship without giving him opportunities on the pitch, Moyes said: “Well, the biggest thing I can say about Merlin is he’s willing to speak – he’s very communicative. He’s actually also got a great relationship with Bainsey and he’s done a great job with him.”
Rohl and Leighton Baines have a shared interest in photography. They were recently at Goodison Park together to watch Everton Women, showing the importance of their relationship. It appears that Baines has helped Rohl settle on Merseyside after his summer signing.
Finding Rohl’s Best Fit on the Pitch
Rohl played on the wing again on Sunday and had moments, but allowed Tyrick Mitchell the space to cross for the second equaliser at Crystal Palace.
The challenge now is to settle him in on the pitch, given his loan from Freiburg will be made permanent this summer. Everton are still trying to figure out how they can best utilise him.
Moyes said: “We are generally still trying to find the best [position for him]. We’ve had some thoughts on how we work and we brought him with an idea because we knew about his physicality and what he could do.
“He is a good player as well and he can score. But he just found that we couldn’t really get him in the side at the start. We started quite well, he was not really able to find a place and he had a few injuries.
“He’s now certainly got used to it. So it takes a lot and I think that I’m hoping that we can find a way of getting him more football and getting him a chance, next season especially. He’ll need to be the one who does that but he’s a really good boy to work with.”
Everton were aware of Rohl’s pace when they signed him, but it was in training when they realised just how quick he was. The youngster is up there with Jarrad Branthwaite.