Fine words butter no parsnips. He's currently unfit, and, like the inevitability of death and taxes, he will be always unfit.
Tom Davies opens up on Everton exit and why he rejected new contact
Everton said goodbye to a number of first-team players during the summer transfer window, including academy graduate Tom Davies
Former Everton midfielder, Tom Davies
Tom Davies has admitted he is searching for stability at Sheffield United after his turbulent Everton career came to an end this summer.
The 25-year-old broke into the
Blues' first-team towards the end of the 2014/15 season and enjoyed his big moment with supporters during a man-of-the-match display in a 4-0 home win over Manchester City, during which he scored his first goal for the club.
Appearances had dried up for Davies in the last couple of seasons, limiting him to only four Premier League starts last season, forcing the player to re-think his long-term future.
Everton put forward the offer of a new contract to the midfielder, though he decided to seek pastures new upon the expiration of his deal.
Opening up on his reasoning behind heading for the Goodison exit doors, the Blues' academy graduate admitted the upheaval at Everton of recent years had taken its toll on him. Asked if this move represented a chance to experience a sense of security he has been lacking, he responded: "Yeah, you could say that.
"It's hard for a footballer to reach their potential when they are constantly being changed around and there is people coming and going and you're trying to make connections with different team-mates, different managers, different formations. For me, I think that [stability] is a big thing I need and just knowing I fit into a team and they want me to be here for the player I am. That then gives you the confidence to express yourself on the pitch."
"It was definitely a new step and a challenge for me," he told
Stadium Astro. "It was a natural step for me to take and one I was happy to take because I want to look after myself first and put my career first. I think for me to come here, it was by doing that. It is always difficult leaving your first club and your boyhood club, but it's one [decision] I am happy I've made and I'm glad to be here."
Explaining an additional factor behind his transfer, Davies added the vision of Sheffield United manager Paul Heckingbottom utilising him in a more attacking role was a major pull.
"I've always seen myself as a box-to-box midfielder," he explained. "When I first broke into the team at Everton, it was more to do with the attacking side and I would play a lot more offensively than the last few years where I dropped into a deeper role. That's where I see myself playing [advanced] and Sheffield United have noticed that in me too.
"It was a big reason why I wanted to come here. He [Paul Heckingbottom] has seen the same things I see in myself and was really keen to develop them. The plan he showed me made sense. That development for myself and the confidence of backing my own game, that I know I have, was a massive reason I came here."
Davies remains in search of his first appearance for the Blades following his recent move. He was named on the bench for an opening day defeat at Nottingham Forest, though has not featured in a matchday squad since due to a lack of fitness. Speaking ahead of United's 2-2 draw with Everton, Heckingbottom said: "Tom had not trained with any players since the beginning of May. We are trying to put him through a pre-season to get him ready to attack the games. We don't want to risk his body at that point."
