Idrissa Gueye in 'curious' Everton situation as contract clause emerges

Idrissa Gueye faces an uncertain situation surrounding his future at Everton, particularly amid the emergence of a clause in his contract.

The Senegal international has been a stalwart for the Toffees across two spells on Merseyside.

He initially signed from Aston Villa in 2016 and massively impressed before then returning six years later after a positive spell at Paris Saint-Germain.

The 36-year-old has now made well over 230 appearances for the Blues and has become one of their most important players.

That has only increased the intrigue surrounding his contract situation as it ticks towards its expiry date.

Gueye now faces a strange situation at Hill Dickinson Stadium as a contract clause looks to be bypassed in bizarre fashion.

Idrissa Gueye missed out on Everton contract extension clause

The defensive midfielder has been a regular over the years in L3, having made 40 appearances last season in all competitions.

He was always going to make fewer this season just gone due to his commitments at the Africa Cup of Nations.

That has limited how many matches he could play for the Blues as his contract expiration looms.

There was once an expectation that he would pen a new deal, as the Liverpool Echo reported that Gueye had an option to extend his deal by 12 months if he played a certain amount of games.

That number is unclear, but the 25 appearances he made are said to be "not enough for it to kick in".

That has prompted Echo journalist Christopher Beesley to ponder the "curious" situation as the midfielder didn't make a single appearance after the 2-1 defeat away to West Ham.

He had previously started every other Premier League game he was eligible for, so it was strange to see him frozen out in that fashion.

Does David Moyes want to force Gueye out of Everton?

The Blues seriously fell off towards the end of the campaign as the dream of European qualification fell away.

Finishing the season without a win in seven was far from ideal and Gueye featured in just three of those under David Moyes.

It seems strange that an injury hasn't been reported and he is set to feature for Senegal at the World Cup, but missed out on four matchday squads to end the year on Merseyside.

That points towards him being left out intentionally as to not trigger the extra year clause in his contract.

Moyes could have made the call not to keep hold of Gueye for another season, so that was the only way to make sure of that.

That would be a bold call for someone who has been such a servant for Everton, with Beesley hitting the nail on the head with the word "curious".