Louis Saha: Everton Have Made Great Start But I Expect A Mid-Table Finish

Louis Saha believes Everton can take a major step forward this season at their new stadium, but expects his former club to finish in mid-table.

The Toffees added nine players to their squad during the summer transfer window such as Jack Grealish and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who have played key roles in an impressive start to their campaign.

Despite losing at Leeds in their opening game, David Moyes' side bounced back with victories against Brighton and Wolves.

Heading into the international break, Everton are fifth in the table having spent much of last season fighting a relegation battle, they are outsiders on football betting sites to finish in the bottom three.

Legacy Opportunity For Everton

In an exclusive interview with Gambling.com, Saha began by talking about Everton's new era at their Hill Dickinson Stadium and how they have performed in the early stage of the season.

He said: "It's great to see that they have an opportunity to build a new legacy or new wave of memories; exciting. The stadium is beautiful. It can host some really enormous moments. I hope that they can get a cup. The Premier League is still a long way off. 

"But I think that there are elements when you have such a manager [David Moyes] who has big dedication to his job, and wants to grow young players as well. 

"You can see that Everton are going to grow because what happened in the last few four years was horrific in some ways. I was scared. 

"They're going to improve, I would say, game by game. Last year was a bit of a survival for David Moyes, but they need to grow as a club. They have invested a lot in a new stadium, but there are a lot of things that they can do off the pitch.”

Toffees Need Top Striker

The Frenchman has been impressed by the impact new signing Thierno Barry has made since joining the club from Villarreal where he scored 11 goals in 33 appearances in his debut season.

Beto opened his account by breaking the deadlock at Molineux, but Saha believes the club may struggle to find the net regularly like last season without a proven goalscorer and a dynamic midfielder.

"Yes. That was the problem last year, and I think it's the same now," said Saha, who will be representing Manchester United at the Manchester Masters on Friday.  

He added: "They trust [Thierno] Barry to do that [score goals], but now that they’ve let Abdoulaye Doucoure go, they’ve lost that box-to-box presence and they need to fill in the gap in so many ways. 

"They need a proper striker, and proper midfielders that can create chances. It was definitely a problem last year. They have a good defence, even with the bad result at the start of the season. 

"So it’s about the balance [of the team] and I think they will finish in the middle of the table."

Barry Needs Time To Adapt

The Premier League odds for the Toffees to finish in the top half are well worth a look, especially since the brought in Thierno Barry in the summer from Villarreal.

Saha urged Everton fans to be patient with his fellow Frenchman Barry, who was in the starting line-up for the win against Brighton in their first Premier League game at their new stadium.

He said: "Everton have a young striker called Thierno Barry, if I'm not wrong. I'm not sure about that move, but this is the type of thing they need to really get right. 

"It's making sure that every transfer has positive results, and this is the reason sometimes you can end up in a very bad position.”

"It will take time, but I think he's [Thierno Barry] done really well. I saw the game where he provided two really good chances at home in the first game, so it was amazing to see. It's a great start, so there are good elements to look forward to from him, but again he's still young. 

"We shouldn’t expect great things straightaway; that’s not possible. That's why they're playing with a striker who's got similar attributes [Beto]."

England Return Possible For Grealish

One player Saha has few doubts about is Grealish, who has already supplied four assists since joining the club on a season-long loan from Manchester City.

The former Aston Villa player joined City for a then British transfer record fee of £100million four years ago, but found himself on the sidelines under Pep Guardiola last season.

However, he has made an instant impact on Merseyside and could catch the eye of England coach Thomas Tuchel if he maintains his form levels.

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Saha said: "It‘s down to him in so many ways to reconnect with the Jack Grealish that we know, who was an England favourite and that almost always started games for them.

"If he’s doing really well, then Everton are doing really well and he's going to provide a lot of assists and goals - so this is what I wish for Everton.

"And if Jack Grealish comes back to the [England] national team, it also means they're both doing well."