Sky Sports pundit raves about Everton midfield as Abdoulaye Doucoure faces major battle
We’re delighted to welcome former Everton striker Kevin Campbell as our exclusive columnist. Each week the former Toffees captain will be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Goodison Park…
Abdoulaye Doucoure now faces a a fight when he returns to the Everton squad after injury with the midfield full of “outstanding” players, believes Kevin Campbell.
The Mali international was hurt in the second game of the season against Aston Villa and hasn’t been involved since, but has seen his position group swell with the additions of Amadou Onana, Idrissa Gueye and James Garner before the close of the transfer window.
Sky Sports pundit Campbell feels that it was an inopportune time for the 29-year-old to get injured because with the new additions, combined with current options performing so well, the former starter now has a great deal more competition from a strong squad.
Speaking exclusively to Goodison News he said: “It’s about squad now. It’s about squad depth. You know as well as I do if you lose a couple of midfielders and you haven’t got people to go in there’s going to be serious questions. It’s very difficult.
“It’s about building a squad able to compete, because you are going to get injuries, and there’s going to be a lot of games, and there’s going to be times when you rotate. That’s for sure.
“So you can never say it’s the right time to get injured but Frank Lampard had to make some moves because Doucouré obviously is a starter, but he lost him at the back end of last season and he lost him now.
“So he’s got to bring some bodies in who he thinks can do a job.
“The best combination, I think Frank Lampard wants to play a three in midfield so it’s any one of six or seven of them in the midfield now.
“I thought [Alex] Iwobi was outstanding again. I thought [Amadou] Onana was outstanding, and do you know what, I think Tom Davies had a really good game as well.
“I think he had a really good game and then obviously Gueye came on and added a little bit more steel and a bit more guile as well when people were starting to get tired.
“Obviously didn’t see Garner, but I think Frank Lampard’s building an Everton squad now that are going to be able to compete, that’s for sure, because it wasn’t just one-way traffic [against Liverpool]. “
Professional football can be a ruthless business and if Lampard feels that he has hit on the right formula in Doucoure’s absence the player may struggle to get back into the side.
The manager has relied on him heavily during his time in charge at Goodison Park so the likelihood is that it won’t be too long before he gets another chance, but it is a much-different landscape he will return to.
With Iwobi and Davies performing, Onana establishing himself, and Gueye well familiar with the club already the midfield is really starting to get up and running, so with Doucoure and Garner also still to add something the Toffees have a group to rival the majority across the Premier League.