View: Digne return could spark Richarlison back into life at Everton
Brazilian maestro Richarlison has been far from his best in recent weeks and Everton need him back firing sooner rather than later.
The impending return of Lucas Digne at left-back could come as a massive boost to the Brazilian, who has been sorely missed him in the Toffees line up.
Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed that the player is back in training as he edges closer to his return.
Premier Injuries say that could be January 16 when Everton face off against Aston Villa at Villa Park.
Richarlison has not scored for Everton since the 2-0 win away to Leicester City back in the middle of December.
In his last three outings, he has failed to record a WhoScored match rating higher than 6.47.
He had previously recorded an impressive run of five consecutive games where he scored 7.01 or higher in the Premier League.
His struggles where particularly prominent of late and according to Wyscout, he gave the ball away 16 times against West Ham and 17 times against Arsenal.
The Brazilian has not recorded more losses of possession in any other game in the Premier League this season than either of those two.
Ben Godfrey has been deployed as a makeshift left-back in Digne’s absence, but the former Norwich man has not been tasked with the same attacking responsibilities when compared to the Frenchman.
Below, we see Godfrey’s overall heatmap in the Premier League this season, courtesy of Wyscout.
He is simply not offering the same amount of attacking support to the likes of Richarlison in front of him.
While he has not been tasked with such a role, it has left the Brazilian somewhat isolated when compared to the support he may have had from Digne.
This season already, Digne has an impressive four assists in eight Premier League appearances, with his overlapping runs become a trademark feature at Goodison Park.
The former Barcelona defender has been sorely missed at Everton and Richarlison might just be the biggest benefactor following his impending return.
With Richarlison very much off the boil in recent weeks, do not be surprised to see him somewhere close to his best once Digne is back in the side.
In other Everton news, Kevin Campbell is ‘sure’ that Everton will be active during the January transfer window