While defensive reinforcements at right-back remain a priority, Vitalii Mykolenko’s declining form and limited offensive output have left a glaring, unaddressed hole on the opposite flank.
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Everton’s right-back situation has taken a large portion of the spotlight during the summer, and it’s allowed other positions to go under the radar.
There’s no hiding from the fact that Everton need to bring in at least one right-back before the summer transfer window closes. In fact, it’s disappointing that we’ve not seen one arrive through the door already.
It’s undoubtedly the biggest issue in the Everton squad at the moment, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other glaring problems.
Many have suggested the striker position would be next on the list, but that’s not the case for me. I want to see us showing faith in Thierno Barry. He’s improved in pre-season, and the return he and Beto produced, combined, last season wasn’t so bad.
With better service and just a better functioning attack, I feel like we’ll see more from Barry.
The real second issue, in my eyes, is the left-back spot.
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Mykolenko has had plenty of time
When Vitalii Mykolenko first arrived at the club, he appeared to be a reasonably strong defender. Good in one-vs-one battles, strong positioning, a fairly old-school full-back.
In reality, it feels like his defensive ability has gone downhill. He’s hardly developed physically, and those strong 1vs1 performances are few and far between.
Mykolenko seemed to lock up some of the best wingers in the league on his day, but unfortunately, they were huge anomalies. These games stuck in the memory of some fans, when in reality, he’s never kept that up consistently.
The Ukrainian international has been at the club for four-and-a-half years now and was recently given a new three-year contract. He’s not developed into a well-rounded defender during that time, and at the age of 27, it doesn’t feel like it’s just around the corner either.
Heading into the summer, it felt like Mykolenko was untouchable, but there was little evidence to justify that.
Strong defender, poor attacker?
To me, it also feels a bit of a myth that Mykolenko is a top defender but poor in the final third. As previously mentioned, he’s often struggled defensively, barring the odd game where he seems to lock up an opposition winger.
I don’t think Mykolenko is an absolutely dreadful defender by any means, but what he brings to the table defensively isn’t worth what we sacrifice going forward.
It’s all about balance. If Mykolenko was one of the top defenders in the Premier League, and we brought in an attacking right-back, you could certainly make it work, with the Ukrainian tucking round to make a back three. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case, and it seriously hampers us going forward.
What to do next?
I’d be happy for Mykolenko to stick around as a backup option. He could be useful in certain situations, and signing a new left-back would then allow us to send Adam Aznou out on loan.
I know some will suggest bringing in Aznou as the starter, but after a year of basically playing no football, I think a loan move would do him good.
I keep seeing links to the likes of Marcus Tavernier, Jacob Murphy, and Brennan Johnson. If we have money to invest in players in positions that we don’t really need, I see no reason why we can’t invest in a left-back.
Is signing a right-back more important? Of course. If I had the choice between right-back and left-back to sign, what would I choose? Right-back. But that doesn’t mean the left-back situation hasn’t been overshadowed by the right-back situation.