Everton receive boost in attack as Sean Dyche has first chance to work with strikers
For most Premier League sides, the international break is feared as a potential chance for players to pick up injuries, but this time around it has provided a blessing for Everton.
The Toffees do have a few players currently away with their national sides, but for the first time this season Sean Dyche has the chance to work with all the members of his strike unit after a start to the season that was marred by injury and late arrivals.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin missed much of pre-season through injury, Beto was a late arrival during the summer transfer window and Jack Harrison has only recently returned to match fitness having scored his first goal in the win over Bournemouth.
As shared by the Liverpool Echo on Thursday (12 October) photographs of the squad in training at Finch Farm this week that have been released by the Toffees have shown the likes of Calvert-Lewin, Beto, Harrison, Dwight McNeil and Arnaut Danjuma training together.
The opportunity for Dyche to get all his attacking options together on the training pitch for the first time this season will likely allow both him and the players to build their relationships with one another and hopefully continue to develop bonds on and off of the pitch.
Due to the intense fixture schedule of the Premier League, teams often have very little time outside of pre-season to do little more than recover and prepare for the next game, but the lack of international call-ups for Dyche’s strikers means the Toffees almost have a mini pre-season over the next two weeks.
Having struggled for goals last season, Everton have begun to find the net on a more consistent basis in recent weeks, scoring seven times in their last three Premier League outings and you would have to imagine extra time on the training pitch should only see that number improve when club fixtures get up and running.
Dyche has floated the possibility of Calvert-Lewin and Beto playing alongside one another in a strike partnership [Liverpool Echo, 21 September] but questioned if it would work saying: “It’s still early for that combination to find its feet. You only get so many training hours, particularly when you play on a Sunday, there’s a recovery as well but we’re certainly looking down that line.”
With the pair finally having the opportunity to spend some genuine time on the training ground for the first time since Beto’s summer switch from Udinese, maybe the Merseyside derby clash at Anfield on 21 October could be the perfect time to test the two big men alongside one another.
No matter what combination takes to the field at Anfield, they will have likely benefited from time together over the international break, and a couple of weeks without a match will hopefully see them fresh and fully recovered for what will be a tough test.
In other Everton news, Danjuma has offered his verdict on Sean Dyche and revealed how to win the boss’ respect