Dan Carter

Sat 22 July 2023 15:10, UK

After all the drama of Arnaut Danjuma’s January decision to join Tottenham Hotspur rather than Everton in January, the Toffees look to finally have their man with Fabrizio Romano reporting the Dutchman is due to complete his medical on Saturday [22 July].

But the question of where Everton’s new man fits into Sean Dyche’s system is a rather complex one, such is his adaptability and versatility in his game it may be fairly difficult to decide where to field him come the season opener against Fulham.

Dyche doesn’t have the biggest of squads at his disposal, but there is depth in the attacking midfield positions, with Alex Iwobi, Demari Gray and Dwight McNeil all probably at their best when operating from the left-wing position. The trouble is Danjuma is probably the same.

There have been times since the former Burnley boss took over that he has found a way of setting up his team to allow at least two of these players to play at the same time, including with Gray as a centre-forward and you’d have to imagine this is where Danjuma will be best used.

The Dutchman isn’t a left-midfielder, like McNeil who will work as hard going backwards as well as in attack, a glance at the statistics on FBREF have him a long way away from the Englishman’s defensive work.

McNeil is in the 96th percentile for wingers in both tackles and interceptions and the 98th for blocks and clearances, whereas Danjuma instead the is fifth percentile for all his defensive attributes barring tackles made per game.

This just reinforces the fact that the former Bournemouth man is being brought to Goodison for his attacking output, Dyche needs goals in his team so it looks as though it will have to be Gray who makes way to accommodate the new man, especially when Dominic Calvert-Lewin returns to full fitness.

When played as a centre-forward, Danjuma has managed to score 17 goals and assist a further three times in 34 games. His record on the left shows that’s where he flourishes, with 32 goals and 25 assists in 92 matches.

Gray doesn’t compare well when purely looking at the goals as a centre-forward in 16 games he’s only managed to score twice and even in his preferred position on the left flank, he’s only found the net 21 times in 187 goals.

Last season Everton only scored 34 goals, a figure lower than all three of the relegated clubs and while many pointed to the absence of Calvert-Lewin, he is going to need some assistance in the coming season to allow Everton to not be closing in on relegation.

Swapping Gray for Danjuma will be a huge step in a positive direction, but he will need to have people around him do some of the dirty work. What might ultimately work best for Dyche is if he can play McNeil behind the Dutchman and allow them to work in tandem.

The other benefit this could bring to Goodison Park is that going forward the two are very different characters. So much of McNeil’s game is built around putting balls into the penalty area whereas Danjuma enjoys dribbling and beating players on the ball.

Whatever forward line Dyche decides to pick for the Toffees’ first game against Fulham, you’d have to imagine it will include Danjuma in some capacity and is a lot more likely to have a place for McNeil, Dyche’s right-hand man, than Gray.

In other Everton news, golfer Tommy Fleetwood has backed Sean Dyche to the Toffees fortunes around this year