Rondon turns down move to UAE

He gets a lot of stick on TW but, for now, I think we need to hold onto him.

No guarantee when Calvert-Lewin will be back and if he'll stay injury free, so we need a backup for Maupay. He may not be a top striker but he does hold the ball up well and always puts in a shift.

Frank,

Pleased to agree. I mean we needed him today. Calvert-Lewin has barely played in 18 months.

We can't soldier on with no back-up for Maupay. Ideally, we get someone better come January but, for now, I'd stick with Rondon.

Rondon made the correct decision. We can't afford to let him go, the way things are with Calvert-Lewin.

He can't be bothered moving to play more football and is happy to sit on the bench and let his contract run out – where have we heard that one before?

We don't need him, he was a massive mistake who arrived out of shape and overweight.

I would rather put an Under-21 striker on the pitch than him. 1 goal puts him up there with my all-time worst Everton strikers.

Everton should have loaned out Rondon to Sunderland and kept Ellis Simms, who had already spent nearly 2 seasons successfully out on loan.

Rob, the U21 strikers who might be good enough to play are both out on loan. Simms is at Sunderland and Dobbin is at Derby County. The others are still getting up to speed at U21 level.

Rob: he was not a massive mistake. He was someone who turned up as back-up and then, unexpectedly, had to play a run of games before he was fit. He was very inexpensive and remains handy to have around until the end of the season.

Steavey: Simms will be much the better for his season with Sunderland. There was no telling whether he'd have got any games in the Premier League – Calvert-Lewin got injured again after the loan was organised. And in any case, Simms himself is now injured.

The likeliest U21 striker to make it, in my view, is Okoronkwo and he's only just stepped up from the U18s. He's miles off just yet.

People talk as though there was some genuinely better option that's been overlooked. There hasn't. This is what being a badly run club leads you to.

Rondon is fitter now, and with the injuries is a much-needed back-up and can do a job, especially at the end of the game when the ball needs holding up, or having a battering ram of a centre-forward to keep tired centre-backs busy.

There is always a real danger on promoting youth straight into a team that is still finding its identity and placing too much emphasis on that player – it can be detrimental to their development – especially for a centre forward, I reckon. I have a vague recollection of this being the case with Michael Branch – happy to be corrected.

So, for me, in the current situation – Rondon is needed.

Calvert-Lewin, Patterson, Mina, Holgate, Townsend, Godfrey out.

Once fit, most come onto the bench. I would therefore expect exits for lads not making a 9-man bench.

Mina, Rondon, Keane and Davies look like they could be moved on in the next window, with hopefully one or two coming in.

Boris Johnson copied his playing style watching Rondon. Yesterday he was just embarrassing.

Maybe he wants to stick around for the FA Cup? Bring on the likes of Boreham Wood and we'll be eating humble pie.

Good on him.

Thank goodness he's staying put.

I'm going to take a different view here.

I'm sure he could make a lot more money with that move. But if we take the money and our views on him as a player (I've been as critical as most) out of the equation, credit to him for opting to train and try to play at the highest level however occasional that may be. Maybe he likes being part of this squad. There is a togetherness about it.

Yes, I know he went to China, but maybe he's learned from that experience and would prefer to be a fringe player in one of the top 3 leagues in the world.

I thought in two situations he was going to have his moment on Saturday. He rolled the defender very well and was about to break through. I suppose the defender would have caught him anyway, but we didn't get the decision. He was impeded and fouled.

And then his shot on goal near the end that would have made it 3 - 1 but he forgot the script and sliced it into the Southampton fans. The way the atmosphere was going in the away end by then, there may have been a pitch invasion, so maybe a good thing in hindsight!!!

If he's staying, I hope he can contribute to the squad when needed. I don't for one minute doubt his attitude.

Why would we even consider letting him go at this time with Calvert-Lewin showing no sign of getting injury free, which leaves Maupay as our only striker.

So, if he picks up a knock in training and Rondon leaves, we are back to playing Gordon or McNeil as a false number 9.

This just shows the folly of letting both Simms and Dobbin go out on loan, surely Simms being the most experienced should have been kept here?

It's a very good sign that the guy wants to stay put and fight for what limited minutes he may get going forward.

Until such time as Calvert-Lewin is fully fit and over his bout of injuries or we sign another striker, I am happy to have the guy as back up.

To all those who made it to Southampton on Saturday, take a bow, you are a credit to the club and hopefully Saturday's away win is one of many going forward.

Looking at the Premier League table this morning, we can definitely have a top half finish this season which would be a remarkable performance give the trials and tribulations of last year and the sale of Richarlison in the summer.

Beat 6th place United on Sunday, Christopher, and we go above them.

Brian #15.

Yes, it was totally jumping the gun letting Dobbin and Simms go but we are getting a lot more right than wrong, I suppose.

We really need Calvert-Lewin on the pitch, especially this month. If he thinks he's too big for us plan, for January.

I'd rather play Michael Keane up front.

To the people trying to "big up" Simms and Dobbin, Simms has scored 3 goals in 8 matches for Sunderland and Dobbin hasn't scored for Derby County yet.

Neither good enough for Everton first team yet, I think.

Yep, Chris, and two of Simms' three goals were keeper errors.

Barry #8 and Danny #14, I agree. Rondon showed his value in helping us kill the clock on Saturday. Yes, it's a very limited role, but it serves a purpose, and we currently have nobody else who can do it.

Rondon will be off at the end of the season, and I doubt shifting him now moves the needle much in terms of our wage structure.

He can hold the ball up and isn't a bad option to bring on late when we're trying to kill off a game, as he did on Saturday.

My son watched Derby County beat Cambridge United at the weekend and says Dobbin was anonymous. Many think one of the reasons we're up shit creek up front is because Calvert-Lewin played too many games early on.

I would prefer to see young squad forwards rotated on the bench, rather than Rondon.