Everton’s recent takeover by the Friedkin Group should give the club a major boost as they aim to remain in the Premier League next season.
This is the club’s last season playing at Goodison Park and dropping to the Championship ahead of moving to their new ground at Bramley Moore Dock for the 2025/26 campaign would be a disaster.
Sean Dyche Everton
Sean Dyche will surely be a man under pressure over the coming weeks if his team does not perform well and gain the results needed to move further away from the drop zone.
With the January transfer window fast approaching, Dyche may have some funds to work with in a bid to improve his current squad.
While a couple of extra bodies would be advantageous, especially in terms of attacking reinforcements, if the manager can continue getting the best out of several of his current players, then the Toffees might just avoid relegation.
Dwight McNeil for Everton
One player could be the difference between the Premier League and the Championship as Dwight McNeil is continuing to shine for the Goodison Park side this season under Dyche, enjoying one of his most productive campaigns to date.
Dwight McNeil’s season in numbers
Across 41 games in all competitions last season, the former Burnley man scored three goals and registered six assists as the club avoided relegation to the second tier.
So far this term, McNeil has played 15 times for the club, yet has scored four times while grabbing three assists, clearly on course to smash his record from 2023/24 with still over half a season remaining.
In the top flight, the 25-year-old has also created nine big chances, averaged 2.5 key passes and has succeeded with 1.5 dribbles per game, demonstrating his attacking prowess in the final third for the club.
While these statistics are impressive, McNeil has also shone when compared to his positional peers in Europe’s top five leagues.
Indeed, according to FBref, when compared to those similar, McNeil currently ranks in the top 4% for shot-creating actions (4.53), the top 11% for successful take-ons (1.2) and the top 12% for progressive carries (2.31) per 90 across the previous 365 days.
These numbers prove that Dyche has a player who isn’t scared of taking on opposition defenders and loves to create plenty of chances for his teammates during matches.
McNeil-Everton-Premier-League-Palace
If Dyche had another couple of players who were capable of performing like this on a consistent basis, the club wouldn’t be lingering near the drop zone.
Unfortunately, he doesn’t, but his aim will be to bring more players up to this sort of standard in the coming months.
The club sold a player last summer who is now making a difference to his current side, who will be aiming for a top-half finish in the Premier League.
Dwight McNeil's stats in the Premier League
Metric
Goals
Assists
Key passes per game
Successful dribbles per game
Total shots per game
Via Sofascore
Alex Iwobi was someone that Dyche admitted he didn’t want to sell, saying: “We didn't want Alex (Iwobi) to leave but you have to be good at (reading) the reality of the situation.”
18 months later, is this decision coming back to haunt the manager? Especially given Iwobi’s form for Fulham this season.
Alex Iwobi’s statistics for Everton
After emerging through the ranks at Arsenal, going on to make a total of 149 appearances for the Gunners across four seasons.
In the summer of 2019, the Toffees swooped, bringing the Nigerian midfielder to Merseyside for a fee in the region of £35m.
Moise-Kean-Everton-Iwobi
Marco Silva lauded the player, saying at the time: "Alex was one of our main targets for this window and I believe he is a fantastic signing for Everton.”
Over the next four seasons, Iwobi would make 140 appearances for the Toffees, scoring nine goals and registering 16 assists in all competitions for the club.
He soon became a key part of the first team picture and, during his last season, the midfielder didn’t miss a single Premier League game. Indeed, he even created eight big chances, averaged 1.7 key passes per game and succeeded with 52% of his dribble attempts that season, providing plenty of evidence of his attacking talents.
Judging by his recent displays for Fulham since departing Goodison, Dyche made a big mistake in allowing him to leave, especially with what he could bring to his current side.
Alex Iwobi is enjoying a wonderful season for Fulham
Ironically, it is under Silva that Iwobi is hitting his stride as the Cottagers currently occupy eighth spot in the league table at the time of writing.
McNeil may have registered six goal involvements for the Toffees, but so far, Iwobi has scored five times while chipping in with three assists in the top flight.
Furthermore, the Nigerian has created five big chances, averages 1.8 key passes and has succeeded with 1.4 dribbles per game in the Premier League.
Journalist Aadam Patel even claimed that the former Everton man was having his “best season yet” in the Premier League during a recent interview with the player.
When compared to his peers in the top flight this season, Iwobi ranks in the top 11% for passes into the final third (3,43), the top 8% for carries into the final third (3.3), the top 8% for progressive passes (6.29) and the top 28% for goals (0.32) per 90.
These statistics certainly give the impression that Fulham are benefiting from his excellent passing ability, especially in the final third, as he can pick out those who are in better space in order to carve chances on a regular basis.
alex-iwobi-fulham
Dyche didn’t want to sell Iwobi, but due to financial constraints, felt that the club had to take the money that was on offer for the midfielder 18 months ago.
He will surely regret this, however, especially with how well Iwobi is performing in the top flight, pushing Fulham to a European spot ahead of the next campaign.
If he was able to call upon the former Arsenal man, there is no doubt that Everton would be a lot further away from the drop zone than they currently are.
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