Ancelotti urges Iwobi to speak up on Everton positional problems
It is not often Andrea Pirlo and Alex Iwobi are mentioned in the same breath but Carlo Ancelotti did just that to discuss a key Everton complaint.
After being utilised as a right wing-back in the 2-0 defeat to Chelsea on Monday Iwobi took to his personal Instagram profile to express his frustration at the move made by his boss.
Ancelotti has sought to play down any furore that has arisen from the Nigeria international’s comments but issued a public reminder that he must speak up if he has any issues.
In quotes reported on the Guardian website Ancelotti said: “If he has an idea of where he prefers to play I have to know, I want to know. I would be delighted to know his preferred position and I’ll put him in his preferred position for sure, no doubt.
“I am going to tell him: ‘Tell me, I am your manager, tell me where you want to play’. When I thought to put Pirlo as a holding midfielder I asked him: ‘Do you like to play there or not?’. ‘Yes’, he said to me, ‘I’d love to play there’ and so I put him there.
“If he wants to play number 10 or number nine I’ll put him at number 10 or number nine no problem. I can adapt the system.”
Head in the right direction…
Does Iwobi even know his best position?
According to Transfermarkt Iwobi has featured from the left most in his career with 108 appearances as a left-winger while he has played 75 times from the right and made 46 outings from attacking midfield. He has also featured more sporadically deeper in midfield and as a centre forward.
If Iwobi wants to bag a left-wing berth at Everton he will be sorely disappointed as Richarlison is one of the key pillars of this team and will not relinquish his role easily.
The stats suggest he is more successful from the right in terms of his output with 11 goals only two less than the 13 he has managed from the left in 33 more appearances.
This is his most likely route into the Blues starting XI but with the mercurial talents of James Rodriguez often found pulling the strings there that could prove difficult.
However the Colombian has suffered from injuries this season and has missed the last three games while at 29-years-old he is edging past his peak.
Signing Rodriguez was not a move made for the long-term and therefore this is the position Iwobi should be making his.
Any attempts to make a beeline for the left will be at his peril.
In other Everton news, see our exclusive interview with Kevin Campbell for his defence of Alex Iwobi following defeat to Chelsea.