In broad terms, the Colombian’s season can be split into two parts; his opening five league matches, where he provided three goals and three assists, and the five matches since, where he has had no direct involvement in a goal. What has he been contributing in the second five?
He’s made 16 key passes in 10 matches, of which eight have been accurate and for chance creation, he created four in the last two outings against Burnley and Leeds. Indeed, his world-class pass through the legs of the defender for Gylfi Sigurdsson at Turf Moor deserved to be rewarded with an assist. Harry Kane, meanwhile, knocks the ball to Son Heung-min 50 yards from goal but gets one. You can see the problem with counting assists.
And James is still contributing in the final third. His completed dribbles (10) in his first five matches is now nine in his last five, with a virtually identical completion rate, while his rate of shots is now just under 2 P90, versus just over two in his first five. There’s not a great deal wrong here.
But other than that aberration he was still attempting shots, and completing dribbles, at the same rate as he has always been. Numbers even themselves and what will also be encouraging to Carlo Ancelotti is how much he is contributing in the defensive phase of the game.
He’s not acting like a luxurious asset that doesn’t get involved in the dirty side of things. He led the Everton press against Burnley at the weekend and no-one on his side attempted more tackles, while none of the attacking players made more defensive challenges. He’s an active and vibrant member of the team and to suggest otherwise, at this point, is lazy.
But as of right now, no, the cold isn’t affecting him. The underlying performance metrics are becoming more active. Should James stay fit, he will continue to return those coveted goals and assists, though there’s more to like than that.