Everton ace Delph shares ‘hard’ message on Blues teammate Mykolenko
Fabian Delph has defended Everton teammate Vitaliy Mykolenko after a difficult start for the Ukrainian on Merseyside.
The 22-year-old has only started two games since arriving in early January and confirmed he missed the Blues’ clash with Villa due to back discomfort.
Delph has come to the youngster’s aid after developing a strong bond during the short time they have spent together at Finch Farm.
“He told me he understands a lot of English but he’s still finding it hard to speak it himself for now,” The former Manchester City man told ECHO.
“But I told him: ‘Don’t worry, when I first arrived at City, we signed a player called Zinchenko and your English was much better than his was’.
“I understand that the scouse accent can be hard to understand but think he’s a determined guy and will be speaking English in no time.
“I had heard of him before he arrived at Everton. I had seen him in the Champions League and for the national team.
“He’s a prospect. In training he’s a really high work ethic, is always asking for the ball and has a great left foot. So, for me I think he has a bright future at Everton. When you move to such a high intensity league, you need time to adapt.”
Give him time
As commonly known, the Premier League is the hardest league in the world which makes England one of – if not – the toughest countries to adapt to in football.
Despite having so much experience, Mykolenko is only 22 which is still very young.
The Toffees need to be patient with the squad only recognised left back and give him enough time to settle.
He clearly has bags of talent having already played for in the Champions League on several occasions as well as with the Ukrainian national team.
He is one of the few Everton players in this team who has actually won any silverware which will put him in good stead going forward at the club.
He will be afforded time to adapt to life in Merseyside for the rest of the season as Frank Lampard looks to do the same as well as identifying his best squad.
The start of next season will be the real insight into whether Mykolenko has what it takes to be a stalwart in the Everton defence but for now he simply just needs to learn and improve day by day.
In other Blues news, Dele Alli shares first message with Everton fans since joining the club.