Merlin Rohl has declared Everton the “perfect club” for him as he reflected on a debut Premier League campaign marked by injuries, fluctuating form, and a late breakthrough under manager David Moyes.
Mixed fortunes in first season
The 23-year-old midfielder joined Everton on loan from Bundesliga side Freiburg on transfer deadline day last summer, with the move becoming permanent for around £18 million after the club secured Premier League survival. Rohl acknowledged his season was one of “ups and downs,” but he ultimately broke into the first team during the final weeks of the campaign.
“I'm living my dream playing in the Premier League,” Rohl told Everton's media team. “I just want to be in the moment and really live that dream and not think about next steps because I think I'm at the perfect club for me, the perfect league.”
Injury setbacks and return to form
Rohl made his debut from the bench but then struggled with injuries until Christmas, when he started and impressed in wins at Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa. However, he then fell out of the side for weeks before a late resurgence saw him start the final four games and score his first goal for the club in a home defeat against Sunderland.
“In Germany, I think it was not fitting in so well with my playing style, my running, my wanting to take risks in a game,” he explained. “I was really, really happy to have the opportunity to play in this league, where I think I fit as a player.”
He underwent his first career operation after picking up an injury, and then endured a difficult period: “I had a run of games that I was not playing. I didn't play, I think I got two substitutes for like 10 or 12 games. And of course that's not what I wanted when I was coming here.”
Support from David Moyes
Despite being out of the side, Rohl felt the support of manager David Moyes. “The boss really told me weeks before that: ‘Don't worry, you will get your chance’. And that was so much trust of him to give me this chance against Man City and then I was able to deliver,” he said.
That performance against Manchester City sparked a run of starts, and Rohl finished the season strongly. The former Germany Under-21 international credited the Everton supporters as the biggest surprise of his first year.
Fan passion a ‘massive surprise’
“The only thing that was a massive surprise for me, because I couldn't imagine this, was the fans,” Rohl said. “The atmosphere in our stadium is incredible. It is an inspiration, motivation for me as a football player to know that I'm doing something that means so much to so many people… I want to work so hard because I have the feeling that when you sprint, when you work hard, when you tackle they love it even more. That's what I'm trying to do.”
Looking ahead to new campaign
Rohl believes he arrived at a turning point for the club and remains excited about the future. “I was not here before, but from the outside and from what the people said to me, for me personally, it felt like a shifting point for the club and a big moment maybe for the next couple of years and that's why I was so excited and happy to join the club. And I still feel the same,” he added.
