Wayne Rooney gets it all wrong away from Everton with Viktor Gyokeres comment
Wayne Rooney should know better than most who the best performers for Everton have been in the Premier League this season.
The Manchester United legend is a regular pundit on BBC Match of the Day, where he must have surely extensively covered every English team in the current campaign.
Rooney has given Jordan Pickford his flowers, but it doesn’t look like he holds any of the other players in high regard.
Jack Grealish and Iliman Ndiaye have arguably been two of the most impactful players in the Premier League this season, but playing for the Blues may be holding them back in certain conversations.
Everton star Iliman Ndiaye snubbed from top three Premier League players list by Wayne Rooney
Rooney believes Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo, Manchester United’s Bryan Mbeumo and Arsenal’s Viktor Gyokeres have been the three best players in the Premier League this season.
While there’s a case to be made for several players in the English top flight having standout seasons, it’s a shame to see Ndiaye being left out.
The Senegal international’s impact at the Hill Dickinson Stadium appears to be being overlooked, having scored four goals in 11 matches.
That’s the same number of goals Gyokeres, who has been considered one of the most lethal strikers in Europe in recent years, has in the Premier League this season.
Ndiaye has taken his game to the next level under David Moyes, with the likes of Juventus now looking to sign him.
While there’s an argument to be made with Semenyo and Mbeumo, Gyokeres hasn’t hit the heights many expected, and Rooney has undoubtedly got it all wrong, as Ndiaye and even Manchester City’s Erling Haaland haven’t made his list.
Iliman Ndiaye and Viktor Gyokeres Premier League season comparison
Ndiaye is being linked with a multi-million exit from the Hill Dickinson Stadium, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see top teams around Europe fighting for his signature in the coming months.
The Everton forward has been overperforming his 2.66 xG in the Premier League this season, while Gyokeres has been slightly underperforming with an xG of 4.56.
| Iliman Ndiaye | Statistics | Viktor Gyokeres |
| 11 | Matches played | 10 |
| 4 | Goals | 4 |
| 2.4 | xA | 0.66 |
| 2.5 (52.9%) | Successful dribbles per game | 0.4 (28.6%) |
| 2.5 | Tackles per game | 0.2 |
| 0.4 | Interceptions per game | 0 |
| 6.3 (49.6%) | Ground duels won per game | 1.6 (35.6%) |
Ndiaye has missed zero big chances for the Toffees, while the Arsenal striker has missed five, and in terms of creating big chances, the Senegalese national is ahead.
The former Olympique Marseille forward has also worked his socks off defensively for the Merseysiders, and his dribbling abilities have seen him create more threat in the final third, something the Sweden international has struggled to do.
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