Alan Shearer gushes over Michael Keane after what happened in Everton win v Burnley
Alan Shearer was left blown away by the performance of Everton defender Michael Keane after his goal-scoring display against Burnley on Saturday.
The defender played only his third entire 90 minutes of the campaign, replacing the suspended Jarrad Branthwaite as the Toffees secured their fourth consecutive league win against Burnley on Saturday (16 December).
The former Burnley centre-back has been a bit-part player for Sean Dyche this season but bagged his first goal of the campaign in an impressive 2-0 win at Turf Moor.
And Shearer, writing in his weekly Team of the Week column for the Premier League website (18 December), named Keane in his eleven, writing: “Showed hunger and composure to get his goal. The added bonus of seven clearances indicates his importance.”
Impressive
For a player who’s only played five games all season, Keane was mightily impressive against Vincent Kompany’s men playing like a seasoned regular.
The former Burnley centre-back’s display just went to show the impact Dyche is having on every player at his disposal right now with even the likes of Keane and Ben Godfrey putting in stellar performances given their bit-part roles this season.
Everton fans will have been forgiven for being worried at the sight of Branthwaite absent for Saturday’s game with the England youngster establishing himself as one of the best young players of his position in the country this season.
However, when Dyche called upon Keane and Godfrey, they duly delivered when needed but it remains to be seen whether both players will be at Everton beyond the January transfer window with the latter already reportedly garnering much interest and the Toffees having an eye on much younger targets elsewhere.
For now, both players will be needed in case the worst should happen to either James Tarkowski and Branthwaite and Dyche will be encouraged to know that his fringe stars will be ready and waiting to step in when required.
In other Everton news, Ian Herbert has sent a new “extreme” message to Sky after what they did to the Toffees in recent weeks