Everton brought in several players during the summer transfer window, many of whom came from fellow English clubs.
However, one such player who was linked with the Toffees but didn’t end up signing is Emmanuel Dennis, and we believe that the Merseyside club duly dodged a bullet by not investing in the Nigerian.
After scoring 10 goals and providing six assists in 37 appearances for Watford, the striker joined Nottingham Forest in August in a deal worth a reported £20m.
Since his arrival at the City Ground, the 24-year-old has made five appearances for the Reds in the Premier League, all of which have seen him come off the substitutes’ bench.
This shows that he seemingly hasn’t been able to convince Steve Cooper that he has what it takes to deserve a place in the starting XI for the team currently sitting bottom of the top-flight table.
Despite having a higher rate of shots at goal per 90 minutes than any of his new team-mates (5.81), all six of Dennis’ attempts at goal have been off target, highlighting his lack of clinical edge when given the chance to score.
Similarly, only 19 of his 27 passes have been accurate, leaving him with one of the lowest pass completion percentages at the club (70.4%).
The Nigerian has also lost four of his six aerial duels and earned himself a rather poor performance rating of 5.93/10 from WhoScored, making him Forest’s second-lowest rated player at this stage of the campaign.
Despite previously describing himself as a “baller“, this isn’t exactly what he has been for his new club so far.
Taking all this into account, it’s safe to say that Kevin Thelwell and everyone else at boardroom level at Everton will be relieved that they didn’t secure a deal for the Nigerian attacker over the summer, as his performances at Forest suggest that he would have struggled at Goodison Park.
