Everton have sacked their manager, Rafa Benitez, after just six months in charge, with the Spaniard becoming the fifth manager sacked by owner Farhad Moshiri in the last six years, and now the owner must start looking at the players who are causing problems and putting in poor performances too.

Blaming the manager for this nightmare season can only take you so far, when there are players in the team who are constantly underperforming, there is also an argument for players on the pitch taking some blame, and one player in particular has been consistently poor for the Toffees this season.

Michael Keane put the final nail in the coffin of Benitez's Everton career on Saturday afternoon when he scored an own goal at Carrow Road, which led to the side's tenth loss of the campaign so far.

The £69k-per-week nightmare has been branded "sloppy" for his performances in the past by journalist, Sean Lunt, and the centre-back's display on Saturday typified this. Sadly, his poor performances have been a constant theme at Everton for years, with former Toffees forward Marcus Bent speaking out to Football FaCcast about his inconsistent performances back in 2019:

“You’ve got Holgate, Mina and Godfrey."

“He’s (Keane) good enough, but if he keeps making mistakes and isn’t consistent then those players will come in and take his place."

That was over two years ago, and things clearly haven't improved for the defender just by looking at his most recent performance against relegation battling side Norwich, where the Englishman won just 40% of his defensive battles.

As a result, the club owner Moshiri needs to take a closer look at whether the player is the best option for the centre back position at Goodison Park, especially in the situation the club finds themselves in, just six points off the relegation zone and in no position to keep making mistakes in the Premier League this season.

Now that the club has sacked Benitez with immediate effect, they search for the next manager to take on the challenge of turning the tide for the club, and with the Toffees linked to a centre back such as Stefan de Vrij during this transfer window, it could also be the right opportunity to add a new central defender into the team this month too.

In other news: Alan Myers gives verdict on Everton issues