It was bound to happen eventually.
Tom Cleverley has left Everton to join Watford on-loan for the rest of the season.
The Premier League club announced the arrival of the midfielder on Thursday afternoon, just after Everton confirmed the signing of Morgan Schneiderlin from Manchester United.
#watfordfc confirms the signing of @Everton's Tom Cleverley on loan until the summer – with the option of a permanent move. More tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/bHw89uIL90
— Watford Football Club (@WatfordFC) January 12, 2017
#WelcomeMorgan @SchneiderlinMo4! 🔵🔵🔵 pic.twitter.com/QqukVLzeFS
— Everton (@Everton) January 12, 2017
Watford have the option of making the move permanent in the summer, and Everton won’t miss Cleverley.
The same way Manchester United didn’t miss him and the same way Aston Villa didn’t miss him.
In truth, how could a team miss Cleverley?
The 27-year-old has made a career in the Premier League without any one stand-out attribute. Football statistics website WhoScored.com lists players’ strengths and weaknesses.
Schneiderlin may not have made the grade at Old Trafford, but he does, according to Who Scored, at least possess the required attributes for a midfielder.
You know, passing, intercepting and, if required, tackling.
Meanwhile, Cleverley “likes to do layoffs.”
In other words, he passes the buck. He’s good at “holding on to the ball” because he doesn’t take any chances. He passes it sideways or backwards.
He doesn’t score goals or assist, and he’s incapable of controlling games.
He has 13 caps for England.
It’s dumbfounding to think Alex Ferguson once said Cleverley had the potential to be the best midfielder in Britain.
Roberto Martinez went a step further with his praise, saying:
“Technically (Cleverley is) as good as you are going to get. Probably his football understanding as good as you are going to get and that showed today.”
Despite making such a laughable statement, the former Everton manager was right in a way. Cleverley knows enough about football to know where to stand if you don’t want to receive the ball.
Cleverley did well at Watford when on-loan in the Championship back in the 2009/10 season. And maybe he’ll do well again now that he’s back in a more forgiving environment.
But it’s clear he’s not good enough to play in midfield for a big team with a demanding fan base, and never has been.
Without any disrespect intended towards Watford, it’s amazing it has taken this long for Cleverley to find his level.
