Phil Jagielka: Jack Rodwell can learn quickly
PHIL JAGIELKA reckons midfield partner Jack Rodwell's baptism of fire will accelerate his growth into an Everton first team regular.
The 17-year-old was thrust into the fray for his first senior start in the 3-2 defeat to Blackburn Rovers on Saturday, after previously having less than 20 minutes of first team experience under his belt.
Rodwell's inclusion was symptomatic of Everton's chronic player shortage at the start of the season as manager David Moyes only had 10 senior outfield players to choose from.
The situation will only be eased for Saturday's trip to West Bromwich Albion if James Vaughan recovers from a foot injury and Moyes's efforts to sigh new players finally comes to fruition in the next few days. But circumstances could see Rodwell resuming his midfield partnership with Jagielka - who himself has had to abandon his central defensive duties to make up for the midfield shortage.
But he is convinced that the teenager will emerge from the club's current crisis a stronger character and performances like the one he put in against Rovers will only enhance his development.
"It's a steep learning for him, especially consider-ing the situation we're in at the moment," said Jagielka.
"In an ideal world I wouldn't be playing in central midfield. We've had a couple of injuries, and we've had to deal with the situation we are in at the moment.
"So it was hard for Jack in the first half, but in the second half I thought he grew into the game. He found a lot more passes and looked more like the player we know he will become.
"We'll see if he will sink or swim, but I'm sure he will swim. He has fantastic ability and hopefully he can soon be on a few winning sides."
Jagielka also admits that Everton are reliant on Mikel Arteta's magic to help them through the troubled early days of the new campaign.
He put his side in a winning position against Blackburn with a superb free-kick to make it 1-1 then produced an inch-perfect cross that Yakubu headed in to give Everton the lead.
"Mikel produced two brilliant pieces of skill to get us back into the game, and that was our lifeline," said Jagielka.
"We made the most of it at the time, but our sloppiness cost us.
"We know how good Mikel is. He's the linchpin of the team. If he plays well, more often than not the team will play well."
On the transfer front,
Everton are still trying to negotiate with Sporting Lisbon for Joao Moutinho and remain hopeful of breaking their transfer record for the Portuguese midfielder.
Closing that deal would leave Moyes less scope to spend on the further five or six additions he admits he needs to get his squad numbers up to a competitive level.
Rennes midfielder Stephane M'bia, who is returning from the Olympics after Cameroon's weekend defeat to Brazil, would remain an affordable option, as would Alan Smith, who was an unused substitute for Newcastle in their 2-2 draw at Manchester United on Sunday.
Everton still have some bargaining to do as they close in on their targets, however, with Moyes likely to look to turn to some late loan deals to boost the numbers.
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