Noel Whelan has suggested that Alex Iwobi and Dele Alli have not proven themselves enough at Everton to keep their places in the squad.
The former Leeds striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, insisted the experienced duo must do more in order to break back into the first-team during the 2022-23 campaign.
“We saw glimpses of quality from Dele Alli and Iwobi at the end of last season, but was it enough?” he told Football Insider‘s Ewan Kingsbury.
“You expect more from players of their experience and quality. Everyone is fighting to stay in the Premier League – so they didn’t do that well. “Look, Frank has been at the club long enough to see what he needs and in what areas and they haven’t proven themselves.”
Iwobi put up series of incredible performances in the last few months of the 2021/22 season to help Everton escape relegation and become not just one of the most important players at the club but also the most loved and appreciated by the fans.
Everton managed to secure their Premier League survival with a game to spare after beating Crystal Palace at home despite conceding two goals in the first half.
For his performances in the latter stages of the season, Iwobi was nicked ‘Iwobi-wan Kenobi’ by fans at the Merseyside after popular Star Wars jedi, Obi-wan Kenobi.
Iwobi also showed good form in the national team netting the equalizer as the Super Eagles came from a goal down to win their opening game at the group stage of the AFCON qualifiers. He also started in the team’s record-setting 10-0 win over Sao Tome and Principe in their second match.