Sean Dyche makes strange Iliman Ndiaye claim ahead of Everton v Brentford
Sean Dyche will have raised the eyebrows of some fans as he claims that there should be no debate over where Iliman Ndiaye’s best position is in the Everton team.
The 24-year-old has been a positive in the Toffees side since he arrived in the summer, scoring three goals in all competitions, although there is a feeling that he has a lot more to offer and the reason he’s not currently doing so is because of the position he is playing in.
Dyche has chosen to use him on the left-hand side but many Everton fans feel this is a waste of his talents, and he would make more of an impact by playing in a more central role.
The Blues boss has refuted this view, though, as he effectively said he doesn’t know why there is a debate surrounding his player’s position.
He said, as per BBC Sport [21 November]: “Currently he’s doing well off the left. People keeping telling me I should be playing him in the number 10 [position] but there’s no evidence to suggest he should be playing there.
“I think he could adapt into there but as a modern number 10, you have to defend from there as well. Dwight [McNeil] has done well on the offensive side but some of the defensive side he’s found a challenge. It’s not as easy as people think.”
Iliman Ndiaye playing a central role for Everton worth a try for Sean Dyche?
Since arriving at Goodison Park, the attacking player has shown he has quality in him, but you can understand why the fans might not feel as though they’re getting everything out of him just yet.
With the Toffees in poor form anyway, there is only so much certain players can do to change their side’s fortunes.
However, for the boss, this is the type of tactical change he should be focusing on trying to see if that can inject some life into his side.
Ndiaye provided five assists for his teammates in Ligue 1 last season, further showing his ability to contribute to goals in his team, and moving him into this central role could put him in the correct position to up his goal contributions.
What is worrying is that the Everton boss seems quite stubborn on his players’ best position, and suggesting there is “no evidence” that he would excel in that role tells us he probably won’t be making that change.
However, with the pressure mounting on the 53-year-old and a potential must-win game against Brentford at the weekend, you can’t help but feel that the boss’ reluctance to listen to the outside debate could cost him his job soon.
In other Everton news, Jordan Pickford received praise from Aaron Ramsdale for what he did during the international break.
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