Journalist Dean Jones has predicted that Sean Dyche could end up "loving" Everton striker Ellis Simms as he has the potential to keep the club from relegation.

What's the latest on Ellis Simms and Everton?

Back in January, the Toffees looked to be in a really dire situation as they sacked Frank Lampard having not won a Premier League game since October.

However, in recent weeks form has changed somewhat and Dyche will see his team enter the International break 15th on the table, two points above the bottom three.

In their last outing, Simms managed to grab a superb solo goal to rescue a point for Everton against Chelsea way from home with just one minute of the 90 to play.

With that in mind, while speaking on Chasing Green Arrows, Jones explained how the 22-year-old could be a good fit for new manager Dyche.

He said: "He's better than Maupay, isn't he? So he's already shown that. At least he's got some front about him and can charge through. He looks very driven, doesn't he?

"And he's a big lad. I mean, that's the sort of player you can just imagine Dyche absolutely loving. And you want that hunger in someone to prove a point and he looks like he's got that, too.

"So could be a hero at Everton by the end of the season."

Is Simms a better option for Everton than Maupay?

In all competitions, Simms has actually scored a very tidy eight goals from 23 outings, with two assists to his name as well. However, seven of these efforts were on loan with Sunderland in the Championship.

That means his strike against Chelsea was his first in six outings since being recalled from the Black Cats in January. Even so, across that time, he's only been on the pitch for 110 minutes.

Neal Maupay, on the other hand, has been regularly involved for Everton but still only has just one goal in 22 outings, for a total of 1,096 mins of game time across all competitions.

With that in mind, it's not hard to see why Jones has suggested that the 22-year-old has more to offer than the Frenchman. And seeing as Maupay didn't get off the bench against Chelsea while Simms did, it seems quite likely that Dyche agrees.

It will certainly be interesting to see if the young forward can continue to help his team in the midst of their relegation battle or if this was just a one-off – much like Maupay's only goal of the season.