More Mina consistency is needed, says Marco Silva

There are a laundry list of frustrating items about this Everton season, and one of them has been the relative failure of Yerry Mina to integrate into the side after his transfer from Barcelona in the summer.

The Colombian has certainly dealt with some injury issues, and the impressive play from Kurt Zouma hasn’t helped, but at this stage of the year, you would have hoped to see more than a paltry 13 appearances since the beginning of the season.

Mina has not looked flat out bad when he’s been able to get on the field, but he never really looks comfortable, either, and certainly hasn’t given Marco Silva a reason to break up the Zouma-Michael Keane pairing that has worked well. According to the manager, Mina needs to offer more, particularly on the training ground.

It’s an interesting comment from Silva, who hasn’t often taken to the press to discuss his opinions on player performance. With Kurt Zouma ineligible on the weekend and Phil Jagielka injured, though, perhaps it’s a motivational tactic, because Yerry Mina will certainly start on Sunday.

It’s far too soon to make a judgment on Mina’s Everton career, but a strong performance against Chelsea would go a long way to kick starting it back in the proper direction.