5 Questions with Cartilage Free Captain

Many thanks to Sean (GN Punk) from our fellow SB Nation blog Cartilage Free Captain for taking the time to chat with us ahead of Everton’s away match against Tottenham Hotspur this weekend.

RBM: I’ve really enjoyed watching Erik Lamela since he came back from injury. How is he re-settling in?

CFC: Honestly, it looks like he hasn’t missed a step. His first appearance of the season, his second touch resulted in an assist. We missed his crazy pressing and running around, that’s for sure. I’m a huge fan of his and I’m so happy he’s back, especially when he’s done interviews talking about how he feared he was never going to play again.

RBM: Any possible January transfers for Spurs, into the first team setup?

CFC: Georges-Kevin N’Koudou was just shipped out on loan to Burnley. Report is that there is no buy clause at the end, so this could be anything from Poch wanting him to get playing time to the club saying they’re done and this is their way of putting him on showcase to recoup a transfer fee.

The belief is that Pochettino has players that he wants, but he doesn’t need them now. We’re forever linked to Fulham fullback Ryan Sessegnon, and I still believe that we’re going to get him at some point. Whether it’s this January and the club loans him back to Fulham for the season or in the summer, we don’t know.

There have been some links to random players outside of England, the most interesting one being Bordeaux winger Malcom. He has seven goals and four assists in 18 appearances for the Ligue 1 club and he’s a hot commodity. I don’t buy that we’ve bid for him like The Daily Mail and Mirror have said that Levy did to the tune of £35m, though.

Ultimately, if a deal is done in January, it’s going to have to check all the criteria: A Pochettino player, a quality addition, and a Levy-friendly deal.

Photo credit should read IAN KINGTON/AFP/Getty Images

RBM: Romelu Lukaku and Ross Barkley are gone. Is there anyone left on Everton that scares you?

CFC: I still miss me some Siggy. That beautiful man standing over a free kick can still make me terrified.

Outside of him? I don’t think so. I know Rooney still has his flashes, but he’s a shell of himself. I’m a big fan of Tom Davies and wouldn’t mind him in a Spurs shirt, to be honest. I’m also thanking my lucky stars every day that Levy didn’t push harder for Davy Klaassen because that seems like an absolute mess.

RBM: From afar, it seems like Mauricio Pochettino is willing to alter his system and formation from match to match. Has the injury to Toby pretty much done away with the back 3? What can we expect to see on Saturday?

CFC: For now, yes. Spurs are a bit deeper in midfield and in the attacking band, and Eric Dier is truly settling in as a defensive midfielder. Sure, he can play center back but I think he’s a true 6. That basically leaves Vertonghen, Sanchez, and Foyth.

RBM: Please tell me Harry Kane is going to win the Golden Boot over Mohamed Salah.

CFC: Did you know Harry Kane’s scoring is up 93% since the birth of his daughter? Yeah, Kane wants his third in a row badly. He already has TWENTY SIX goals for the club and it’s not even the middle of January. He has said all along that he wants every record out there, which means going after the 38-match record of 31 goals held by Shearer, Ronaldo, and Suarez. I’d love to see him beat the 42-match record of 34 held both by Shearer and Andrew Cole just for the hell of it.

Salah is a hell of a player, don’t get me wrong, and he’ll challenge down the stretch. Kane is still taking this down.