Amadou Onana proves undeniable Everton worth in stunning individual performance despite 4-1 loss to Newcastle
Everton suffered a chastening 4-1 defeat at the hands of Newcastle United at Goodison Park on Thursday [27 April] further compounding their relegation fears.
In what was a crucial contest in the Toffees’ quest to secure their Premier League status for next season, Sean Dyche’s men fell to yet another disappointing and damaging loss and performance on home turf.
Goals from Callum Wilson (2), Joelinton and Murphy meant the Toffees stayed rooted to the bottom three in the Premier League two points from safety and needing to pull off a miracle in their next five games to save their English top-flight status once again.
Everton actually started the match well on the front foot despite going behind, pressing and harrying their opponents in the opening minutes. With much riding on this game, Dyche wouldn’t have accepted anything less from his men.
After the halfway mark, the Toffees recorded the most shots, tackles, counter-attacks and the better expected-goals than Newcastle highlighting their impressive start [SofaScore].
But for some torrid defending once again, Everton could not sustain their dominance which led to Newcastle’s rampant response.
However, if the club are to pull of a Premier League safety, they will have to do so with arguably their best player in fine fettle and Thursday’s game showed just why Amadou Onana is arguably their most prized asset.
The exit-linked Belgian international has been linked with moves across to the Premier League big boys in recent weeks, with reports suggesting that Everton are still yet to determine his price tag which could come to around £60m+.
Despite the torrid Everton defeat, Onana may well have added more figures to his ever-increasing price tag with a stunning individual performance at Goodison Park.
As per SofaScore, the former LOSC Lille destroyer picked up the joint-best score of any Everton player during his 73 minutes on the pitch and the joint-third-best of every player to feature on Merseyside and his underlying individual stats show why.
Onana registered 42 touches, successfully completed 21 of his 22 passes at a sensational rate of 95% and none of those passes were basic either, consistently looking to progress the ball through the lines to the likes of Alex Iwobi and Dwight McNeil.
The 21-year-old was also instrumental in his defensive work, winning six of his eight ground duels at a rate of 75% all while recording five tackles, five interceptions and five clearances and wasn’t dribbled past on any occasion during his 73 minutes on the field [SofaScore].
The Belgian has proven an instant hit since his £33m summer move, showcasing his irresistible and dominant talents from midfield in just his first season in England, and his qualities certainly warrant a bigger platform than Everton potentially.
After his latest performance, Everton will certainly feel they are in a very pleasing position when it comes to the rampaging midfielder’s future with his contract at Goodison running till 2027.
With that in mind, £50-£60m seems too little, and we believe he costs more than that considering the current market. What a player – one Everton fans will be incredibly distraught at the sight of selling.