Bryan King shares verdict on Saudi-linked Abdoulaye Doucoure ahead of meeting with Fulham
Goodison News is delighted to welcome aboard our brilliant new columnist Bryan King, the former goalkeeper who spent over eight years as a scout at Everton and 28 years in total in first-team scouting roles. Bryan also spent six years on Tottenham’s recruitment team and 11 years scouting at Aston Villa across two different spells…
Bryan King believes that Everton boss Sean Dyche will be keen to keep hold of midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure and doesn’t believe his absence against Fulham is linked to a move away from Goodison Park.
As reported by the Liverpool Echo (29 January), Doucoure remains absent for the Premier League clash with Fulham at Craven Cottage on Tuesday 30 January.
His absence has been a big blow for Dyche in recent weeks after his impressive form during the early stages of the season.
Doucoure has been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia in January (Fabrizio Romano, 20 January), although King believes that a move at this stage is unlikely.
Speaking to Goodison News, King said: “From what I have heard the Saudis are not prepared to pay the amount of money that either Everton or the agent are asking for.
“If the official message from Everton is that the player is injured, then all we can do is go along with that message.
“It is a blow to have Doucoure unavailable, but to be honest I am not sure Sean Dyche even knows what his best team is because he is still trying to work out what players he has at his disposal.
“I am sure that there are five or six players at the club who he is not happy with and who he would much rather sell before Doucoure.”
In other Everton news, the club are braced to receive a new offer from an English club before Thursday.
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