With his current contract set to expire in the summer of 2010 and unlikely to be extended, James Vaughan’s Everton future looks bleak and in desperate need of a refuel.

James Vaughan broke onto the first team scene in April 2005 in a triple record-breaking substitute appearance, becoming the youngest player and youngest goalscorer in Everton’s history, and also becoming the youngest Premier League goalscorer in history, a record which still stands five years on.

However, during that summer, and whilst playing for England U19′s, he suffered the first of three knee injuries, which would eventually rule him out until December 2006. He would go on to make 15 appearances over the course of the remainder of that season, scoring 4 goals and earning a call-up to the England U21′s. More injury would follow though, this time in the form of a freak dislocated shoulder suffered during the annual pre-season friendly at Deepdale and an end-of-season second knee injury restricted him to just 13 appearances over the course of the 07-08 season, with just 2 goals to his name.

More recently, Vaughan has had a whole host of niggling problems that have restricted his development and minutes on the pitch.

It is clear to see that James Vaughan has had horrific luck when it comes to injuries. And yet despite this, at 22, Vaughan deserves every opportunity to get and stay fit. He has managed it at Crystal Palace during his current loan spell and Everton potentially have everything to lose by letting him walk away for nothing in the summer. Releasing him on a free would be foolish when we consider he isn’t on big money or a drain on the wage bill.

Some would argue that the case of James Vaughan is a rose-tinted romance based on seperation. They would argue that his ability and potential grows during periods of absence. A headless chicken not fit for Premier League football, appears to be the general consensus.

What people seem to have forgotten is that when given the chance James Vaughan has never failed to impress or find the back of the net. Vaughan netted two in two against Burnley and Carlisle respectively before being strangely shipped out on loan to Leicester in January 2010 at a time when Everton had a scarcity of striking options.

Rumours suggest that there has been a serious breakdown in the relationship between player and manager. Whether those rumours have any credence isn’t really the issue; what matters most is ensuring a player with the pace, power, enthusiasm, finishing ability (the penalty in the FA Cup Semi Final against Manchester United was the class act of a natural goalscorer) isn’t allowed to leave and come back to haunt us at another Premier League outfit.

At a time when Louis Saha is spearheading the Blues’ attack masquerading as a centre forward, Everton are crying out for quality combined with the heart and guts for battle…James Vaughan would certainly supply just that.

I don’t think I have never willed a player to do well as much as I have with James Vaughan. He is a great lad who clearly loves the club but more importantly he is a potential top class player.

With his loan in South London set to come to an end at the start of January and Everton’s well documented goalscoring troubles, what does David Moyes have to lose in giving Vaughan a run of games that could revitalise his Everton career?