Micah Richards blown away by Everton pair despite loss v Nottingham Forest
Micah Richards namedropped Iliman Ndiaye and Orel Mangala as standout performers for Everton after the 2-0 loss against Nottingham Forest.
Ndiaye left onlookers gushing over his sensational performance against Nottingham Forest on Sunday (29 December) after the Blues fell at the final hurdle of 2024 in a unique contest at Goodison Park.
Despite the loss, Richards singled out Mangala and Ndiaye for their impressive displays this year on The Rest is Football podcast (30 December, 18m 36s) and believes the latter could improve further.
He said: “They’ve got some good players Everton, you know. Do you know who’s really impressed me over the last couple of weeks? Mangala in midfield and Ndiaye.
“The final bit with Ndiaye now [is missing]. He looks really good. He gets on the ball, he’s got a drop of his shoulder and I know he scored that wonderful goal against Manchester City.
“But there was opportunities in the game today where if he just played the right pass at the right moment then they could be a better team going forward.”
Iliman Ndiaye can be the next big thing at Everton
Kevin Thelwell has rightfully come under the microscope recently for his transfer failings during the summer, but he got it on the nose when he brought Ndiaye to Goodison Park.
The 24-year-old offers a whole new dimension to the attack for Dyche and has quickly settled back into life back in English football.
While his three goal contributions in 18 outings leave much to be desired, the stats cannot show how influential he has been on this Everton side.
Ndiaye stole the headlines after the 1-1 draw against Manchester City at the Etihad on Boxing Day after his “special” 36th-minute goal opened the scoring for the visitors.
He impressed so much so, that claims emerged after the final whistle that the Senegalese international would walk into the Manchester City squad in a true testament of his ability.
Although Ndiaye has been the centre of attention at Goodison Park, Mangala’s efforts have not flown under the radar, and Everton have been backed to convert his loan move from Lyon into a permanent deal.
It is a rare sight for Evertonians to see summer signings imbed so flawlessly into the squad, and long may it continue as more signings could be on the way on Merseyside in January ahead of a second-half push to pull further away from the relegation zone.
In other Everton news, a fiancé of a Blues ace has taken a swipe at Sean Dyche after what happened against Nottingham Forest.
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