Everton manager Willie Kirk says that the club must utilise forward Valérie Gauvin in the right moments to get the greatest benefit from her this season.
The 25-year-old French international forward netted five goals for The Blue Girls in her first season in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League and she possesses the necessary qualities to help Everton push onto the next level of their project.
Gauvin is equally as effective when used from the start of matches or when introduced from the bench and manager Kirk says that Everton must utilise the player’s talents in the right moments to get the best results from her this season.
When speaking to FAWSL Full-Time about helping Gauvin fulfil her maximum potential, Kirk said “First and foremost, we need to give her the proper service. Without doubt, everyone knows that she is a natural goalscorer, her record in France for Montpellier and even for us last season speaks for itself.
“It is just about getting her on the pitch at the right moments and giving her the proper service because I think if you look at her Montpellier record, I think she came off the bench more than she actually started but she still scored over 50 goals – something like 48 starts and 50-odd substitute appearances.
“She is a goalscorer who can score when coming from the bench, she is capable of that but it is just about how we utilise her now and decide whether we need that type of striker to start the game or finish the game. She came on in the 82nd minute on Saturday and she got the one chance and hit the bar from it. I think she was flagged offside but it was debatable so you can see in that short space of time how dangerous she can be.”
Following their 4-0 opening day defeat to Manchester City, Everton face another tough test this weekend when they travel to reigning Barclays FA Women’s Super League champions Chelsea. Kirk went on to say that Gauvin is carefully building up her fitness following injury and she should be ready and waiting to be called upon at Kingsmeadow on Sunday.
He added “She is getting close and training hard. We have really tried to accelerate her work in terms of her intensity in training, her load has been high since she came back for pre-season. It has just been about getting her on the pitch safely and making sure that she is working with good intensity.
“We worked her really hard for a few weeks and we have actually now tried to drop it off slightly this week just to make sure that she is available for whatever we want her available for on Sunday. She will then link-up with the French squad and should get minutes with them because I know how highly they rate her.
“It is a slow process with Val but it is just about getting her on the pitch as safely as possible.”
Everton’s Barclays FA Women’s Super League fixture at Chelsea kicks-off at 12.30pm on Sunday. The match will be broadcast live on BBC Two.
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