Sean Dyche shares update on future of Everton midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure
Everton midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure could be given a fresh chance to resurrect his career, but Sean Dyche admits it’s going to take more than four games to make a decision.
The 30-year-old has impressed under Dyche so far. He was frozen out of the first team towards the end of Frank Lampard’s reign and has made only six starts in the Premier League thus far.
With Dyche deploying an extra-man in midfield, Doucoure has featured regularly, completing 90 minutes against Arsenal, Liverpool, Leeds United, and Aston Villa, and there’s “no question” that he can help the club going forward.
“I’ve only been here four games. You have to do a bit more than four games when I am your manager,” said Dyche, as quoted by Liverpool Echo.
“He’s certainly someone that could help the club going forwards. I think he has done very well. Different managers see different things, different managers want different things.
“This is no question of any other manager at all. But he is someone I have always liked as a player.
“I think that, in a strange way, it always gives you a head start. But you don’t know until you get here.
“I got here and either he saw it as a fresh chance. Then, it’s up to the players. They all respond to new manager changes in different ways. He has just responded very well so far – but I want him to continue in that vein.”
Decision
Doucoure has a contract at the club until the end of the season, but the Toffees do have the option to extend it for another year.
Had Lampard still been in charge, we could have said with certainty that Doucoure’s future at Goodison Park is as good as over.
However, it seems Dyche likes him, but he needs to perform consistently to earn a new contract at the club.
At the same time, considering his age, this could be his last big deal at a top side, and Everton will have to absolutely sure that he can play a big role in the future.
Doucoure is a typical box-to-box midfielder, but he needs to be used properly. The likes of Doucoure, Amamdou Onana, Alex Iwobi and Tom Davies can all function properly if they have a strong defensive midfielder at the base.
Idrissa Gueye is not the same player anymore. If the Toffees can bring in a top-quality defensive midfielder in the summer, these players will perform a lot better than what they’re doing right now.