Bernard concerned about his future if Silva is replaced – why he shouldn’t be concerned?

Bernard fears that he could be frozen out if Marco Silva is replaced as Everton manager, according to reports.

The Brazilian has been a regular member of Silva’s first-team squad since signing for the Blues as a free agent last summer, having left Shakhtar Donetsk at the end of his contract.

The 27-year old hasn’t been able to nail down a guaranteed starting spot though, with Alex Iwobi, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Richarlison all competing for a place behind the striker in Silva’s familiar 4-2-3-1 set-up.

With Silva currently on thin ice at Everton after four consecutive Premier League losses, there has been speculation about his long-term future on Merseyside, with former boss David Moyes the bookmakers’ favourite to replace Silva in the Goodison Park hot-seat.

According to Football Insider, Bernard isn’t too pleased with this speculation, with the Brazil international fearful that he could lose his place under Moyes as he wouldn’t suit the Scotsman’s more tactically defensive approach.

Bernard is small and relatively lightweight, and Everton benefit from his supreme technical ability and ball skills, not his sturdiness and strength in the tackle.

Under the previous Moyes regime, Everton became known as a team of tough-tackling and aggressive players who made Goodison Park a difficult place for an away side to visit, and Bernard feels concerned that should Moyes return, he wouldn’t fit into this style of play associated with the former Manchester United boss.

Read Everton Verdict

First and foremost, I cannot see anyway that astute businessman Farhad Moshiri agrees to bring David Moyes back to Everton. It would be a clear and obvious backward step, and one I don’t believe Moshiri would make unless there were no other alternatives.

Bernard has proven to be such an exciting talent on his day, and should Moyes return and elect to get his side back to playing regimented and defensive football, I don’t think he would be able to justify freezing Bernard out.

During Moyes’ time, he had little money to work with and not an awful lot of genuine quality on the field. Now though, he could afford to be more expansive and accept more creativity on the field to match the club’s ambition, so I think that Bernard would definitely have a part to play.

At least I hope so, anyway. Should the stars align for Moyes and he gets to complete his sensational return, I would hate to see the more talented and exciting players pushed out of the club on the basis that they’re almost too good for Moyes’ tired tactics.