Doucoure confirms Everton contract decision as deal expiry nears
Abdoulaye Doucoure was the hero for Everton at the City Ground as he scored in the dying moments to hand Everton all three points against Nottingham Forest.
Everton snatched victory against Forest right at the death as Doucoure slammed the ball home after an excellent pass from Dwight McNeil.
The result means that Everton are now likely to finish in 14th place in the Premier League, having jumped up from 16th, and was another strong result since the return of David Moyes.
Doucoure’s contract is up at the end of the season, and the match-winner has now revealed what his desire is with regards to his Everton future.
Doucoure wants to stay at Everton
Doucoure has now confirmed that his desire is to stay at Everton, but it remains to be seen whether the club will offer him a new contract.
Speaking on BBC Match of the Day after Everton’s victory, Doucoure claimed that he loves the Toffees and would happily stay if offered the chance to.
| Stat | Abdoulaye Doucoure |
| Appearances | 161 |
| Goals | 21 |
| Assists | 13 |
“I can’t talk too much about that but obviously you know it may be my last few months here at the moment. Everything is quiet from the club side. Obviously I love the club, I always said. Let’s see what happens in the next couple of weeks,” he stated when asked about his future.
Doucoure was then directly asked if he would like to stay, and he made his decision very clear.
“Why not? To be honest I love this club. I always said I wanted to stay. Obviously my contract is running out but I love the club,” he replied.
Everton need to move on from Doucoure
Although Doucoure’s goal was a brilliant moment and a well-taken finish, it came after a 90 minutes in which the midfielder was again underwhelming.
Doucoure’s performance levels have dropped overall this season, which is to be somewhat expected with the midfielder now 32 years old.
With Carlos Alcaraz waiting in the wings to potentially replace Doucoure as an advanced midfielder, now is perhaps the right time to inject some younger blood into Moyes’ side, and letting go of Doucoure while he is still somewhat popular is perhaps the best outcome.