Tim Cahill put himself firmly on the fantasy radar with his winner at City at the weekend. The Everton midfielder was forced into emergency service as a striker following injuries to both Saha and Anichebe, and popped up to score the only goal in the dying moments of the Eastlands encounter.

On the face of it he’s looking a strong prospect over Christmas and beyond. However, caution is advised. It’s very likely that Cahill’s striking role will be short lived, while comments from team-mate Leon Osman today, confirmed just how Cahill has had to temper his attacking instincts as a result of the arrival of record-signing Fellaini….

Cahill’s goal at Eastlands was his first in 8 Premiership games – a surprising stat for a player who averaged better than a goal every three games last season. The introduction of the forward-thinking and three-goal Fellaini to Everton’s midfield is suspected as the reason behind the reduction in output. Certainly that’s an opinion expressed by team-mate Osman…

“We all know Tim Cahill can score a goal in any moment in any game, but he might not have scored the amount he wanted to this season. But he has been doing other jobs on the pitch, he has been sacrificing his goalscoring to do different jobs,” remarked Osman to local press today.

“Don’t forget Felli has come in and he wants to attack the same places Tim does, so Tim has had to adjust because of that and that’s great for him”.

Cahill’s forward runs should remain prominent while Moyes keeps faith with a 4-5-1 formation. However, Fellaini’s own penalty area raids could continue to cut into profit for the Aussie. Should Everton manage to get a pair of strikers fit or bolster their squad in January, then Cahill could well find himself back in a deeper role and playing second fiddle to the forward runs of Fellaini.

Cahill may well be a wise short-term investment option but long-term, the Fellaini factor appears to cast doubt over his potential.