Everton cannot afford to lose Amadou Onana as transfer news emerges
Things have got a lot better for Everton over the last few weeks, as Sean Dyche’s side finally seem to have discovered the winning formula.
The Toffees were seriously impressive during their 3-0 win over Burnley in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday (1 November) with James Tarkowski and Ashley Young finding the net either side of Amadou Onana’s second-half strike.
Onana has been one of the brighter players in Dyche’s side over the last couple of seasons and has been integral in Everton’s efforts to avoid relegation and now it has been revealed that he is leading the Premier League in one particular statistic this season.
According to WhoScored.com (2 November) of the 109 players to contest 50 or more ground duels in the Premier League this season, no player has been more successful and come out on top more often than Onana who has won 66.7 per cent of his battles.
Given how Dyche’s side look to play, often hitting teams on the counter-attack and allowing them to dominate possession, the midfielders in the Toffees squad must win the ball regularly when they look to challenge their opposition.
Against Burnley at Goodison Park, Everton only registered 38 per cent of possession and Onana touched the ball only 38 times, but off of the ball, he was at his destructive best, winning five of his six ground duels and made five ball recoveries [Fotmob].
The Belgian international has also been excellent aerially in the early stages of the campaign, sitting in the 97th percentile of Premier League midfielders for aerial duels won per 90 minutes, with an average of 2.98 a match at a rate of 70.7 per cent [Fbref].
Rumours have been circulating over the 22-year-old’s future in recent weeks, with David Ornstein (2 November) confirming that he has “already generated plenty of interest.” Manchester United were one club who enquired about the midfielder’s availability and had the price been right, Everton “may well have sold.”
If Onana continues to be one of the Premier League’s best destroyers in the middle of the park, while also popping up with important goals as he did on Wednesday, clubs will be interested in securing his services in the January transfer window.
The Toffees cannot afford to lose a player who has been this integral to Dyche’s side’s upturn in form in recent weeks and must do all they can to keep Onana at Goodison Park.
In other Everton news, David Ornstein has shared an update on both the Toffees and Manchester City’s potential FFB breaches