Merlin Rohl turned in a breakout display against Manchester City, and Everton are now trying to work out whether the 23-year-old belongs in midfield, out wide or somewhere in between.
Rohl’s selection against City ended a near four-month absence from the starting XI, and he was used on the right wing even though central midfield is his natural position. The Germany youth international did not look out of place. He was again deployed on the wing on Sunday at Crystal Palace, where the balance of the game shifted when Tyrick Mitchell was allowed the space to cross for Palace’s second equaliser.
For Everton, the performance against City mattered because it offered a glimpse of what they believed they were getting when they took Rohl on loan from Freiburg. That deal will be made permanent in the summer, and the club still sees a player with pace, power and the ability to affect games at both ends of the pitch. Training data has already shown he is among the quickest players in the squad, and David Moyes has described him as powerful.
Moyes was blunt about the work still ahead. “We are generally still trying to find the best [position for him],” he said, adding that Everton could not really get Rohl into the side at the start and that he had been held back by a few injuries. Even so, the manager pointed to the way the midfielder has settled in. “Well, the biggest thing I can say about Merlin is he's willing to speak - he's very communicative. He's actually also got a great relationship with Bainsey and he's done a great job with him,” Moyes said. He also said Rohl had now certainly got used to it.
The connection with Leighton Baines has become part of the picture. Rohl and Baines recently watched Everton Women together at Goodison Park, another sign that the German has started to find his place around the club even as his best role on the field remains unsettled. Moyes said Everton signed him knowing he was pacey, noted that he can score, and added: “He'll need to be the one who does that but he's a really good boy to work with.”
There is no doubt about the raw attributes. Moyes said there have been days in training when Everton registered the players’ top speeds, and Rohl was right up there with the fastest. “Jarrad Branthwaite is very quick, but Merlin is right up there as well,” he said. The manager’s point was clear: Everton have a player with unusual physical tools, but the club still has to decide how to use them without exposing the rest of the side. That is the real test now, not whether Rohl can make an impression. He already has.
Rohl’s black-and-white Instagram photos may fit the image of a young player still shaping his own story, but Everton’s next task is more practical. They must turn a promising loan spell into something reliable, and they must do it while figuring out where on the pitch he can have the biggest influence before the summer move is completed.
