Kevin Phillips says Everton may look to offload midfielder Jean-Philippe Gbamin in the January transfer window. 

The former Sunderland striker was discussing the Ivorian's future with Football Insider.

The lowdown

Everton paid £22.5million to sign Gbamin from Bundesliga outfit FSV Mainz in 2019, ranking him in their top 15 biggest transfers (via Transfermarkt).

But he's endured a torrid time at Goodison Park, making just four appearances across more than two seasons.

He's suffered three serious injuries, including an MCL injury just over a week after he'd returned from an Achilles tendon rupture.

Off the field, meanwhile, Gbamin was hit with a £25,000 fine and a 14-month driving ban after an incident in August (via Liverpool Echo).

The latest

Phillips, a regular on Sky Sports, says Everton may now have lost patience with Gbamin and thinks that they may look to 'get him off the payroll' as they did with £200,000-per-week star James Rodriguez, who left for Qatari side Al Rayyan last month.

"From a football point of view, he has had injuries, he has not been playing and then this," Phillips said. "Come January they may look to move him on.

"Like Rodriguez, they might try to get him off the payroll and use the money to strengthen somewhere else.

"I imagine it’s been difficult for him since moving to Everton and this incident has just topped it off. It is not good to see."

The verdict

Gbamin's wages, it should be said, are a considerably smaller burden than those of Rodriguez. He's said to earn £25,000 per week.

It is, however, increasingly difficult to see him making a success of his Everton career, and maybe it's best to move on.

If he was to leave in January, then he'd surely have to go down as one of the least impactful big-money signings in Premier League history.

In other news, what about a potential incoming at Goodison Park?