View: Season high recovery stat shines light on Davies’ defensive talent
Allan and Abdoulaye Doucoure have both soaked up plenty of praise since Carlo Ancelotti brought the duo to Everton last summer.
Former Napoli general Allan has expertly marshalled Everton’s defence whenever he has been fit and free of injury, while Doucoure’s supreme energy levels have made him a vital component in Ancelotti’s side.
However, while the experienced midfield pair do deserve praise for their level of consistency this season, Tom Davies also deserves credit of his own.
Davies began featuring much more regularly for Everton this season once Allan was ruled out for two months in early December, often deputising in place of the Brazilian.
The England Under-23s international has impressed while operating in a deeper midfield role than he is used to, with Sky Sports even doing a positive profile on the player last month.
The 22-year old played the duration of Everton’s 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace earlier this week, where according to WyScout he set a season-best record of 15 recoveries against the Eagles, further underscoring his steady increase in form.
WyScout define a ‘recovery’ as the point at which a player begins possession by touching the ball, typically through duels or interceptions, or through simply collecting a loose ball.
Davies’ 15 recoveries demonstrate his impressive positional awareness for Everton, with Allan never managing as many recoveries of the ball in the Premier League this season, managing just 11 at his best.
Though Davies doesn’t possess the tenacity of Allan in the deeper role for Everton he has shown a knack for getting on the ball often, putting himself about and shifting the ball in transitional phases.
James Rodriguez was the one Everton player who drew the most attention against Palace, with the Colombian distributing the ball in fine fashion before eventually getting on the scoresheet for the Toffees.
However another impressive display from Davies with little to no fanfare goes to show that he is an undervalued member of Ancelotti’s squad, and an under-appreciated asset that Everton thankfully have at their disposal.
In other Everton news, £27m Everton loan star appears destined to return to Goodison in the summer.
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