Former Leeds United and Crystal Palace striker Noel Whelan has suggested that Alex Iwobi has not lived up to his billing since his big money move from Arsenal in the summer of 2019.

In truth , the Nigeria international, in his first Premier League start of the new season, was below par as the Toffees lost their unbeaten start to the season at Southampton this past weekend and was replaced at half time.

Whelan warned Iwobi that he is not guaranteed a place in the starting lineup and has to improve his performance if he wants to stay in the team.

Iwobi joined Everton for a fee of 35 million pounds, with £7m of that made up of performance-related add-ons.

"I think we expected a lot more from him, from what we saw at Arsenal, with the big money that they paid for him," Whelan told Football Insider.

"He’s not hit the heights that we expected. A lot of Everton fans that watch him are frustrated by him.

"This is an opportunity now for him to go out there and show why they spent that money, show Ancelotti that he deserves a place in that starting line up but he’s got big boots to fill.

"If he doesn’t come up with something special, he’ll find his bum back on the bench because he needs to score goals, he needs to show assists and he needs to show that intelligence on the ball."

Iwobi has been involved in six goals (3 goals, 3 assists) in 36 appearances since his move to Everton.

Igho Kingsley