Sky Sports pundit believes Idrissa Gueye lacks Premier League practice after key Everton errors
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…
Idrissa Gueye will be realising that getting caught “against the big boys” will get you in trouble after some costly errors for Everton, according to Kevin Campbell.
The Senegalese international was re-signed from Paris Saint-Germain on transfer deadline day after three years in Ligue 1, and has been caught in possession leading to opposition goals against Manchester United (9 October) and Southampton (1 October).
All three strikes in the 2-1 defeat to United came on counter-attacks after players were dispossessed in midfield, and Sky Sports pundit Campbell believes it shows the quality of the Premier League, which he felt the Toffees were lacking slightly in that game.
On whether the former PSG man is suffering from a lack of Premier League-calibre match sharpness he exclusively told Goodison News: “Yeah, I think so. He’s played against teams that haven’t been able to regain and punish you.
“But you get caught on the ball against the big boys, you’re in trouble.
“Everton trapped Casemiro in midfield for Iwobi’s goal. [Amadou] Onana trapped Casemiro in the midfield, won the ball off him, then they punished Manchester United. 1-0, Iwobi, great finish.
“But the moment you let Man United, with the quality that they’ve got, trap you and get the ball off you at that end of the pitch, you’re in trouble.
“Fair play to Manchester United, Antony scored his third goal. He’s a finisher, the guy, he’s a good player.
“And then obviously [Cristiano] Ronaldo, they win the ball in midfield, Casemiro with one pass. It was like the Real Madrid of old, Casemiro to Ronaldo. He runs through and it was a real good controlled strike.
“Everton huffed and puffed as you know they’re going to do but just didn’t have the quality, and that was the difference at the end of the day. That little bit of extra quality which I’m sure Frank Lampard is chomping at the bit to try and get at the top end of the pitch.
“For the defence and the midfield in parts it was a decent game, but when it matters Manchester United just had that bit more quality.”
Gueye is a top midfielder who proved himself in the English top flight before, but after three seasons away, playing a different tempo of football for a team that routinely controls games in France, it might take him a bit of time to recall how he operated in his previous spell at Goodison.
Everton were disappointing in the United loss, Iwobi’s fine strike aside, but are still developing from narrowly avoiding a devastating relegation just months ago.
A return to full fitness for Dominic Calvert-Lewin would definitely boost things in attack, but midfield is an area where Lampard isn’t short of options so he can afford to swap Gueye out of the starting line up for a couple of games if he sees fit.