Everton: Sean Dyche simply must keep Ashley Young off the field v West Ham, he’s past his best
Sean Dyche simply must keep Ashley Young off the field when Everton go head-to-head against West Ham on Saturday (2 March).
The former England international came on as a late substitute in the Toffees’ game against Brighton to try and shore things up before Lewis Dunk scored an injury-time equaliser to make it 1-1.
The 38-year-old defender has had a mixed spell with the Blues since signing on a free transfer from Aston Villa last summer.
He started the first nine Premier League games of the campaign before being sent off for in the first half of the Merseyside derby against Liverpool in October, where his rash decision cost his team the chance of picking up a result at Anfield.
After starting in Everton’s four matches leading up to the Brighton clash, where they failed to win a single one of those fixtures, he was dropped down to the bench at the Amex.
The Toffees were 1-0 up before the veteran came on for midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure with just a minute of normal time to go before Dunk found the back of the net to earn his side a point.
Young has been showing his age in recent weeks and, while his cameo against the Seagulls perhaps might not be a fair reflection, there is reason to suggest the Blues were better without him on the pitch.
Although he had just four touches of the ball, he lost possession once, failed to win his only duel and gave a way a foul after coming off the bench [SofaScore].
For a bigger sample size, the defender, who has featured in midfield lately, has recorded just a 72 per cent pass accuracy across the season.
The Englishman has also made two errors that have led to goals and given away one penalty, suggesting he can’t be completely relied upon for the Toffees.
That is something Dyche simply doesn’t need as he looks to pick up another result and steer his side further away from the relegation zone after they saw their 10-point deduction reduced to six points.
Although Young has been an excellent player and achieved several things across his career, it just feels as though playing regular Premier League football may be beyond him now.
Dyche should avoid the temptation to play the defender against West Ham as there are probably better options heading into the clash at Goodison Park.
In other Everton news, Farhad Moshiri has been provided with a 777 Partners takeover solution amid the “appalling” Goodison situation.
For more Everton news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.