Everton boss Sean Dyche will be happy to maintain the club’s Premier League status after joining midway through last season, with a final-day win over Bournemouth enough to save the Toffees and make Leicester City was relegated.
Victories over Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion will forever be remembered, but Everton will now have to use last season’s escape from danger as a launching pad for brighter prospects, and Dyche has certainly started taking action this summer to reform the front line.
scored the second fewest goals last season.
Ashley Young is the only summer acquisition unlikely to feature regularly in the attacking third, and even he, now 38, has played a key role in his career in the attacking third.
winger position before switching to fullback at the age of thirty.
Explaining the departure from the club he experienced, Davies said:
“I think it’s difficult for a player to reach his potential when he’s constantly changing and there are many people coming and going.
“You try to make connections with different teammates, different managers, different squads.
So for me, yeah, I think [stability] is an important thing that I need.
“Just knowing that I fit in with a team and they want me there for the player that I am, I think that gives you the confidence and stability to express yourself on the field.”
Dyche is clearly looking to turn Everton into his own creation, trying to emulate his great exploits with Burnley, the team he kept in the Premier League against all odds over the years.
While the Blues currently boast a revamped attack, there has been plenty of upheaval in recent months, with Yerry Mina, Conor Coady and Mason Holgate leaving the defense and various other exits.
One of the first players to leave Goodison Park is local midfielder Tom Davies, who completed a free transfer to newly promoted Premier League side Sheffield United when his contract expired in June.
The Englishman made 179 appearances for the Toffees, scoring 7 goals and providing 8 assists before leaving.
Although he had shown promise earlier in his career, injuries, a loss of form and confidence amid numerous managerial changes of late at the club meant he preparing for the inevitable departure.
Indeed, called an “extremely poor footballer” by one Everton podcaster, Davies never really tried to cement his position and, with a salary of £39,000 per week at the time of his contract, Dyche was clearly trying to get rid of a player.
earns quite a bit of money for a shadow role.
Such a huge sum means when you consider he only played 20 times last season, it means he cost them an alarming £96,000 per game.
What is worrying, however, is that Everton allowed Davies’ departure to follow Alex Iwobi, who was sold to Premier League rivals Fulham as part of a ‘transfer estimated to be worth around £22m’ on the transfer expiration date..
last month.
Unable to add a central midfielder, will Everton lose themselves in an important year for football?
A product of Everton’s Finch Farm youth academy, Davies is considered an exciting talent after making his debut at the age of 17 against Southampton in the Premier League.
For a while, in the second half of the 2020/21 season, Davies appeared to be hitting his stride and making plans as a first-team regular at Goodison Park, being praised for his form.
“special” shape.
by former Everton goalkeeper Nigel Martyn.
Martyn also said:
“There are pianists and piano porters, as I once explained – and your group needs quite a few piano porters.”
Indeed, the 25-year-old proved to be a hard-working, hard-working midfielder, completing 81% of his passes, making an average of 1.
2 tackles and 1.
4 interceptions per game, reaching an average of 1.
2 tackles and 1.
4 interceptions per game.
Successful dribbling rate 75% and 57%.
his passes.
his ground duel, according to Sofascore.
Showing signs of being a refined and multi-faceted player, Davies received a tactical analysis from Sky Sports, detailing how he combines his dynamism and intelligence to resounding effect..
Missing 31 games with a knee injury throughout the 2021/22 season, Davies only made eight appearances, and although he returned to form last year, he suffered a long spell of pain, only starting four matches.
in the Premier League all season.
Perhaps he deserves to be given “the mantle” – as journalist Jonathan Thompson believes – for failing to impress in recent years, with too many aspects of his game flattering him to cheat.
Last season, in 19 appearances in England’s top flight, the 5ft 11in tall player averaged a lowly 6.
52, completing 75% of his passes, completing just 0.
1 key passes.
per game and made 0.
8 tackles, 0.
2 interceptions and 0.
4 clearances per game.
— is clearly less robust than he was at the peak of his powers, and even that should have been used as a framework to revive his career .
It is telling that Football Transfer values the player at just £5 million, which is symbolic of his inability to keep up with Merseyside managers.
While Davies appeared to be a promising prospect in the early days of his career on Merseyside, he has failed to start for a variety of reasons and has actually been sidelined for the past few seasons.
Everton may be lucky that Davies is from home and has not yet had another cut-throat deal fail; Having now joined the Blades, he may have the chance to find a new life, but on the evidence of recent years, ditching the lackluster presence is a good move for the club’s owners set of Farhad Moshiri, Dyche et al.