£22m man now officially an Everton player as Moyes given food for thought

Everton were not even in action on Wednesday night, but a result elsewhere triggered a clause.

Manchester City defeating Burnley 1-0 saw the Clarets officially drop into the Championship, and also ensured Everton cannot mathematically be relegated in the final five games. Relegation was highly unlikely anyway as the Toffees instead focus on Europe, but it is now impossible.

Securing survival has also seen Merlin Rohl officially become a permanent Everton player, meaning David Moyes has work to do at Finch Farm this summer.

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Merlin Rohl purchase clause has now been triggered, but his role provides cause for concern

Fussball Transfers in Germany say Freiburg have made €25m (£22m) in total from this deal. There was a €2m (£2m) loan fee when The Friedkin Group took Rohl on initially, carrying a €22m (£19m) obligation to make the move permanent if Everton stayed in the Premier League.

However, the German has only made two starts in the Premier League this season, and has come off the bench just ten times.

Moyes has left Rohl – who gets on well with Harrison Armstrong – out completely in nine of the last 11 Premier League games.

The Glaswegian is a stubborn operator who rarely changes his team, but the 23-year-old has cost Everton a significant fee here.

Therefore, the purchase clause now being triggered should provide Moyes with some food for thought about how he can get Rohl into the side, or else this move risks turning out to be a huge waste of money.

The man born in Berlin could potentially be seen as a replacement for Idrissa Gueye, who turns 37 in September and may even be released this summer when his contract expires.

However, German football expert Constantin Eckner told the BBC back in September that Rohl is more of an attacking midfielder than a No.6 who breaks up play like the Senegal international.

Did Everton make a mistake in signing Merlin Rohl? 🫣

Or do we need to be more patient? 😬

Moyes already has a standout option in that role in Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, so one of the main priorities over the summer at Finch Farm should be deciding where to use Rohl and developing him into an effective option.