Everton receive boost as Abdoulaye Doucoure confirms AFCON absence
Everton have received a huge boost as Abdoulaye Doucoure has confirmed that he won’t be playing for Mali in the African Cup of Nations this season.
The Frenchman has been in inspired form for Sean Dyche’s side so far this season, remaining the top scorer under the current Blues manager and only recently extended his stay at Goodison Park when he signed a new contract.
It had appeared as though the Toffees would lose the midfielder in the early weeks of 2024 with the 30-year-old expected to join his Mali teammates for this season’s AFCON, but Doucoure has confirmed that he would rather stay on Merseyside instead.
As quoted by the Liverpool Echo (6 November) he said: “I think I’m going to stay here in an Everton shirt. I don’t want to go. It’s not a big, big decision because I went only one time for the Mali national team.
“I want to focus really on my career and on the club. I have all the respect for my country, but I am going to stay here.”
Huge news
Everton are beginning to build some momentum under Dyche and it looks as though they could be able to climb the Premier League table and navigate their way away from the relegation battle and into the midtable positions in the coming months.
To continue to build that momentum, Everton are going to need their best players available as often as they possibly can and that includes Doucoure as it would have been disastrous to lose his services for a number of weeks at a crucial point of the campaign.
There is always the risk of players picking up injuries on international duty and it would have a huge blow to Everton’s season had they lost the 30-year-old for any extended period it could have pushed them back into the relegation battle.
It is clear just how much Doucoure cares about the Toffees as he speaks so highly about the Goodison Park club and while the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Jarrad Branthwaite are stealing the plaudits currently, the midfielder is just as crucial to Dyche’s side.
Hopefully, he won’t have a late change of heart and will remain at Goodison Park for the entirety of the campaign.
In other Everton news, Paul Merson was left stunned by what Neal Maupay did in Brentford’s win over West Ham