Sam Allardyce Admits New Signing is 'Struggling' to Adapt But Promises Him More Game Time

Everton boss Sam Allardyce has revealed that January summer signing Cenk Tosun is having problems adjusting to the pace of the Premier League and the English weather, but says he plans to give the striker more minutes on the pitch as soon as Everton have confirmed their safety in the league.

Tosun, who joined the Toffees from Besiktas for £27m in January, has started just two games since his arrival and is yet to score or make much of an impression.

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As reported by Sky Sports, however, Allardyce doesn't appear to be too worried by the striker's poor early form and believes that it isn't an unusual occurrence.

"He is struggling with the pace of the Premier League which happens to more players than it doesn't who come in in January." he said.

"When it is chucking it down with rain, it is not that he is not used to it, he is, but it's freezing.

There is no doubting his goal-scoring ability but you have to have the capabilities to get in those positions to score those goals and that is the hard bit. It is not unusual to see a centre-forward struggle when they first come we have seen many, many over the years do that."

Although Everton look relatively comfortable sitting in ninth place in the Premier League, Allardyce is determined to reach the 40-point mark which traditionally tends to mean a team is safe from relegation and claims that when that happens, he will be a lot more willing to experiment with giving Tosun time on the pitch.

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"When we are safe and moving forward we will still try and finish as high up as we can but we will have an opportunity to put him on the pitch." Allardyce said.

"The most important thing for me at the moment is securing our Premier League status and going from there."