Besic raring to go as he nears fitness goal

Get well soon and come fighting strong!

Yes, he will face stiff competition from Gana, Davies, etc but we need competition and depth as Barry is gradually going to be playing less and Macca maybe heading off for more game time.

Remember how he bullied Toure last season? If he can get fit, we really will have a seriously strong spine to the team with strong cover from the bench.

I think Besic will suit Koeman's high-energy, high-pressing style down to the ground – he is fearless and never stops! He also has a fair bit of quality which could improve under Koeman!

I'm looking forward to seeing him back!

With all I've said, I wouldn't mind him going out on loan to get a few months of competitive football to come back next season fit and ready. Keep McCarthy till summer and then look to sell him on with hopefully a fully fit Besic to come back in.

He simply has no future at the club. As I've pointed out many times before, Koeman had a real good look at him before his injury and immediately began pursuing defensive mids in all directions. Gueye, Witsel, Sissoko and more... all BEFORE Besic was hurt on August 3.

He is now SIXTH choice at his position behind Gueye, Schneiderlin, Davies, Macca and Barry. And being an absolute zero contributor offensively -- he's scored exactly one goal in his entire professional career and doesn't even have an assist for us in 35 appearances -- I see no possibility of him leapfrogging any of the players ahead of him to regain his place.

I think his Everton career was over when Koeman arrived, and certainly after the injury. He will be moved on and I wish him nothing but success.

Great heart though; good luck to him in future, wherever that might be.

Besic was injured in a pre-season game.

How could Koeman have had a good look at him?

I just hope he also does not become the new Gibson.

Watching tonight, I'd be breaking the bank for Will Hughes. 21 years of age with already 100+ Championship games. He has a bit of Reidy about him.

Apparently that was enough. A manager who rates Besic doesn't lay out £30M for Sissoko.

If he can get to the point where is is fit enough to compete for a place in the first team, after proving himself first in our excellent U23s team, then hopefully Koeman will give him a chance.

He'd be like a new signing if he got back in the first team squad and I love that aggressive bastard streak in him.

Many people go on about his attitude but ffs trying 100% is the least I'd expect of any professional sportsman, let alone those getting paid thousands a week. The fact that others sometimes don't seem to doesn't mean we need to put those that do on a pedestal. He seems a good kid and I really hope he proves me wrong but all I've really seen is a lot of huff and puff and then back to the treatment table.

At 24, he's not exactly 'one for the future' anymore so he either starts making a positive contribution on the pitch soon or it's probably worth moving him on in the summer or next season. With Gana, Schneiderlin, Barkley and Davies, he has some competition as it is. I'm predicting McCarthy won't be with us much longer.

This is also another example of where the club hands out contract extensions like confetti. He signed a 5-year deal in summer 2014 then got a two year extension in Feb 2016, when he still had over three years left on his original contract. If he doesn't make the grade he can sit and pick up his wages till 2021! Wtf makes these decisions?

Trouble is with Sky, the club doesn't need to do anything other than avoid relegation to earn hundreds of millions. Another example of the Dutch disease. Easy come easy go.

His problem is that he is horribly injury-prone. He will not be match fit until the start of next season at best and then who knows? Not 25 till September though. He hasn't had a long enough run of games for us to know how good he might be.

Last chance with us, at best.

Denis, the Sky bonanza may not last too much longer – their subscriptions have dropped about twenty percent since every teenager discovered how to stream live football for free.

https://www.premierleague.com/players/10451/Muhamed-Besic/stats

Robin (#22), agree he has potential as a centre-back, but in Spain or France, not in the Premier League, where tall is needed. At 180 cm he's even shorter than Jags.

Doing a job on Toure is not as tough as it once was. The guy has been stealing a living for 18 months. I watched him overtaken by the referee last week.

Time will tell. I do hope we see him with the Club for years to come. I truly enjoy his intensity and physicality, and believe he can be an asset to the team.

On his day, he's a beast. He'd slap his Mama to win a ball.

Sorry to disapoint but I'm afraid he looks like he's got no future here and I for one don't care. We've got well better than him.

Thanks for the chuckle.

He runs about the pitch kicking everyone he can, and is a complete liability. But worst of all, he cannot maintain the discipline to hold his position. I remember tearing my hair out when he charged the length of the pitch to close down a centre back, and everyone was going mad with support and shouting "that's how it's done Rom". 5 seconds later, the opposition, I forget which, were through on goal having exploited Besic being out of position.

The lad plays football like he's 10. He has no idea of tactics or shape, and he never will.

Good luck on your comeback, but find a club in the Championship, that's your level.

7 years for Besic and the same for Gibson is just madness whichever (none dodgy) way you look at it. I apologise if I drone on a bit but I cannot think of any logical reason why these contracts were handed out.

The extension for Howard was another one that springs to mind. One that would have kept him at the club until the age of 39, ffs. At the time he was already 34 and had a contract running to when he was 36 or 37. Why did he get an extension?

Has to be something dodgy going on, no normal business would act this way and given all the articles and books about back handers, bungs etc in football, I'm 100% convinced cash is consistently being siphoned off to god knows where. However, as long as the Sky goose keeps laying those golden eggs, no one in football is going to rock the boat and lose out. A multi billion pound industry that has zero regulation or oversight.

No surprise Kenwright is still in the thick of things.

If Mo can stay fit he could be just down Ronald's street as he likes players who are 90-minute men and can press. Mo has this in his locker so it will be interesting to see how this develops.

He was bought by Martinez off the back of a good game in the World Cup, where according to Martinez, he twated Messi. Apart from a great game against Chelsea, he was labouring in the midfield. He never commanded his post on a regular basis.

IMO, he doesn't look anywhere near a top six player, including injuries aside. Good luck to him if he has anything else to offer, but he has had far more bad games than good (including being a substitute and being substituted). I don't see much changing.

You have to ask yourself, if he was playing for another club and was available for transfer, would Koeman be interested? Even at –6 million!!

I agree it will be difficult for Besic to get in the team, but if we make it into the Europa League next season then it will be worth keeping him.

I'm rooting for Mo as I feel he's a real trooper, a genuinely honest professional who has a great desire to make it at Everton.

He was like fucking lightning. He booked a player and took no no dissent. Reason being he had sprinted 50 yards away in 3 seconds. He was, over 20 yards, faster than George Best.

Whenever he gets the chance to play fully fit, he will give his all for the blue shirt and not without a lot of skill too. I for one hope he makes it at EFC and spends the next several seasons with us.

In my opinion, Koeman wouldn't have bought Schneiderlin after the Cup KO if he knew Besic was back a month later, and fancied him to push ahead of the others he already had. I also think he's not disciplined or tall enough to play as a centre-back

Does anyone expect him to be the same athlete; which is what he brought to the table; his athleticism. Injury prone to begin with, now coming back from a major knee injury. How will that affect the tremendous pace and acceleration that got him noticed in the first place?

If that's gone, there's nothing to talk about. He's the size of Baines and Pienaar without anything remotely close to their technical skill.

Don't know if he'll EVER play for Everton again, but think Mike Gaynes has it right in general. The clock is ticking on when he departs Everton. Just the matter of the date.

Like at Everton, he'd be a fan favorite over here in MLS. Everyone loves a terrier. And his technical deficiencies wouldn't be as glaring.

I for one hope he has a future as unlike Deulofeu, who seems to think we owe him a living, this man seems to give a shit!

I firmly belieive Besic will play again for Everton and will, eventually,become one of the regulars.We all know Besic gives 100% when he is fit and this is something Koeman particularly likes.

As for him being 6th choice now, I would seriously question that comment. I would have him in the side in front of Barry now and I also feel he is a better player than McCarthy.

At this moment in time, I would suggest he is number 4 in the midfield rankings,with plenty of time to prove he can earn a regular spot

They didn't too badly but probably played in the centre of a 3 man defensive unit with 2 tall guys!

I expect being able to jump, have a desire to win the ball and get in the midst of things like Tim Cahill helps now he would of made a great defender!

I hope that Koeman gives him a chance and that he can overcome these injuries. It is as if his eagerness to do well somehow makes his body too tense, resulting in pulls, strains etc.

He has a great attitude, and I hope he gets past his problems.

A certain 18-year-old who plays a very similar game has already shown this season that you can get around the pitch, bite a few ankles and still be a goal threat... So I'm pretty sure that a less-disciplined goal-shy player is not going to get ahead of him in the pecking order.

I'd love Mo to stay but unless he can prove that hes not a crock and rein in that reckless streak I just don't see it happening unless both McCarthy and Barry are not available.

To be fair he also seems like he is strong mentally and could handle big occasions, unlike many of our mentally weak squad of the last decade. Long and short of it is I think he may be a bit immobile for Koeman, as was showed by the right back cameo Martinez put him through. Plus I agree with those who say he is a wild, yellow card waiting to happen.

However, you cant improve if you aren't playing. Besic has had the early part of his career wiped out by injury. I hope we stick by him and give him the chance to come back, get fit and, vitally for him this time, stay fit. Because he needs to this time, even if he gets a few niggles when he first returns. If Koeman doesn't rate him that's okay, get him out on loan. I'm sure all he wants to do is play some football now, he must be desperate.

If he can stay fit he will have a decent career, more than likely away from us. We are also probably the best club he will play for, by a street. He's decent though.

He could certainly come on in midfield to shut down a game and also sit in a back three to provide some extra energy and quality of passing.

If he can live with not being a regular starter, then I think he'll stay.

We cannot keep every player. We currently have a preponderance of defensive midfielders Besic, Barry, McCarthy, Gueye, Schneiderlin, Davies, Gibson. Having this many is simply a drain on the clubs wage bill and it stifles the development of the youth players. Would Davies be getting game time if Gibson and Besic were fit to play?

Now without doubt Barry will be retiring within the next year but that still leaves six players.

Unless something totally unexpected happens Gueye, Schneiderlin, and Davies are going to be the first choice for the foreseeable future.

That leaves McCarthy, Besic, and Gibson. Now McCarthy is a saleable asset and will in all probability leave the club in this window or the next.

So we are left with Besic and Gibson. Whether we like them or not, they have become injury prone players. I think we will have difficulty moving them on but I doubt they will see much first team action assuming they ever get fit enough to be picked. More than likely they will simply see out the remainder of their contracts and leave on a free.

This is something I feel has been missing from Everton for quite a while. I expect nothing less than 100% from a player but many have lacked a real conviction in their own ability. Mainly for this reason, I'd always make a place in the squad for Mo.

The other issue about just getting rid of players who aren't quite as good as the current 11 doesn't sit well with me. On current fitness and form my midfield three would be Gueye, Schneiderlin and Davies. But there are clearly two enormous variables there as fitness and form are passing states.

If we sell McCarthy and Besic and keep the aging Barry for cover then we're gambling on no injuries. Also, I want the players in the team to be there on merit, not simply because there's nobody to take their place.

I wouldn't question his spirit, but I absolutely question his ability as a top-pro in the Premier League. Decent player at times, clearly injury prone, and lacks the discipline to play at a top club.

With our midfield options, I would be extremely surprised to see him stay with the club once he's fit.

Hard for me to imagine such a competitive guy being willing to settle for being a squad player at 24.

And I am a big fan of Mo B. Needs a bit of work on his game but great attitude and I hope he stays and develops.

That lack of tactical discipline was clearly evident when he man marked Messi out of a world cup game and of course our manager and coaching staff will not have been able to assess this at all, hope they listen to some if these comments for guidance!! Laughable!!

As for Besic not playing for us again, ill wager any amount on that! Its blatantly obvious that McCarthy is on his way, Gibson will be offloaded and Barry winding out. Besic is exactly what Koeman likes in a player and he will flourish under this manager providing strong competition to Davies, Schneiderlin and Gana.

Squad game, boys; you can't just keep your 1st team and hope for no injuries or suspension.