Will Samuel Eto’o be a hit at Everton?

Steven Naismith endured a difficult maiden season in the Premier League, becoming something of a space goat amongst supporters, while the depressing demise of Nikica Jelavic showed no sign of ending.

Victor Anichebe, though a hard worker, has never been prolific, and new £6m signing Arouna Kone had put in some fairly unconvincing performances. Not to mention the enigmatic Apostolos Vellios; a peripheral figure in the first team, the young Greek striker reportedly refused to go out on loan and his attitude was often criticised by Blues supporters.

Today, however, Everton looks far better equipped up front, in spite of Kone’s lengthy spell out. Naismith looks the polar opposite to the player he was under David Moyes, Jelavic and Anichebe have been moved on for sizeable fees, and Vellios was released.

The Toffees almost doubled their transfer record to secure Romelu Lukaku on a permanent basis, and, most recently, veteran striker Samuel Eto’o has joined on a free transfer.

The signature of Eto’o is a particularly intriguing one. The former Barcelona man was once considered one of the most deadly finishers in the game; his incredible record of 129 goals in 201 games for the Spanish giants is testament to why he is held in such regard.

But, with age, his stock has fallen. Eto’o joins us following a mixed spell at Chelsea, where he scored 12 goals in 34 appearances for the London club. While he undoubtedly scored some key g0als for them last season, including a hat-trick against Manchester United, there were times where Eto’o looked off the pace in his debut season in England.

It was also well documented that the Cameroon forward failed to score a single away goal during his time at Stamford Bridge, so it should perhaps come as no surprise that Jose Mourinho allowed him to leave following the expiry of his one-year contract.

However, it is clear that Roberto Martinez has the utmost faith in him to deliver on the pitch and, in return, Eto’o clearly believes in Martinez and his philosophy.

He cited Martinez as one of the key factors in his decision, and it is a credit to the Spaniard that Eto’o turned down bigger clubs and more lucrative offers to come and work with him. This is in stark contrast to the way Eto’o was treated by Mourinho, who famously called the striker’s age into question during last season.

Although Eto’o is not getting any younger, one of the ways to get the best out of him is to back the striker, something that Martinez and the fans have already done. For it is not often Evertonians get to see a man with 19 honours, including 3 Champions Leagues,join the Blues, so you can be sure that the forward will have the unwavering support of almost every Everton fan.

Given the Cameroonian’s wealth of experience, he could also be a great addition off the pitch as well as on it. Eto’o could certainly help in the nurturing of our young strikers, most notably Lukaku, as he could pass on advice that he has picked up during the year which could, in turn, improve the likes of our record signing. Therefore, there may be several beneficaries from this signing.

It would be naive to expect him to rediscover the form he showed at his old clubs, particularly at Barcelona. For one thing, Eto’o will surely be second-choice striker, behind Lukaku, so how often he will feature over the course of the season remains to be seen.

Despite captaining Cameroon during their disastrous World Cup campaign, Eto’o can also hardly be match-fit, given that he has had no pre-season, so it may take time for him to return to sharpness and to full fitness. But when he is, expect Eto’o to be hitting the back of the net once again.

Perhaps it was generous to offer the striker a 2-year deal given that he will be 35 by the time his contract runs out, and the striker knows his playing career is nearing its conclusion. However, in reality, this is probably Eto’o’s final big payday, and having won almost everything he could’ve won in the game already, he has very little to prove to anyone.

The only thing he needs to focus on now is helping propel Everton up the table, and if he can do that, he could prove to be one of Roberto Martinez’s smartest acquisitions so far.