Idrissa Gueye could cost Frank Lampard his Everton job v Bournemouth
Frank Lampard is under a lot of pressure at the moment, and he could lose his job if Everton suffer yet another defeat in the Premier League.
The Toffees will travel to Vitality Stadium to face AFC Bournemouth and Lampard could be in big trouble to keep his job safe if they suffer another defeat.
After an encouraging start, it feels like the Toffees find themselves in the same doldrum as they were last season after picking up their fifth defeat in the last seven games in all competitions.
The summer signings have made an impact, but one player who has turned out to be a “liability” is Idrissa Gueye.
The 33-year-old joined during the summer transfer window from Paris Saint-Germain and has made nine Premier League appearances so far.
The defensive midfielder manages 2 tackles per game, and makes 2.1 interceptions, as per Whoscored.
However, that is only one-half of the story.
He has been disappointing most of the time in the anchor role. He frequently losses possession, and leaves the two centre-backs – Conor Coady and James Tarkowski – exposed.
Thanks to the brilliance of Jordan Pickford and some resilient defending, the Toffees do boast a solid defensive record, the truth is Gueye is putting the team under extreme pressure.
Gueye is not the same player anymore that he once was, but Lampard took a big gamble on him. And now, he has no one in the side who can play the defensive midfield role.
He is expected to start against Bournemouth, and if he keeps making sloppy passes, the Cherries could hurt the Toffees, as they did in the midweek.
There have been suggestions that Lampard is planning for the January window, but another defeat here could force the Everton board to rethink where the former Chelsea boss is at all the right manager to take the club forward.