The £25m summer signing from Celtic is expected to replace Wieffer, who is struggling with injury.The £25m summer signing from Celtic is expected to replace Wieffer, who is struggling with injury.
The £25m summer signing from Celtic is expected to replace Wieffer, who is struggling with injury.
Everton are considering a move for Matt O’Riley, but are his comments on international duty a concern?
Everton are a club at the beginning of a new era even if there is a familiar face in the dugout once again.
David Moyes knows what is needed to succeed at Goodison, and it will be hoped that this can be translated to the new home at the Hill Dickinson Stadium. When next season kicks off, it won’t just be a new stadium, it will be a new squad too.
Everton linked Matt O’Riley not happy with Brighton boss
Diomande has been tipped for the top, but O’Riley clearly isn’t happy with how his time on the south coast has panned out: “I’m best at the number 8 position, where I can go box to box. I’ve only played two games there, otherwise I’ve been used as a winger, false number 9 or something else,” he said via BT on international duty.
“It makes it difficult to show off when you play a position you’re not completely happy with,” O’Riley said in a thinly veiled dig at Fabian Hurzeler.
“I’m just giving my opinion. I can play better for the team if I play the number 8 position, but I can play well in other positions. You can say it in a way that is not aggressive. If you are honest with another person, you don’t lose anything. The coach can always say he doesn’t agree.
“I’ve become better at defending myself, being more aggressive and intense in duels. My coach said I should work on my defensive attitude so that I could defend better and help the team in that way. I think that will also help on the national team.”
Has O’Riley just ruined any chance of a move to Everton?
O’Riley blaming the manager for not having a good season or for living up to his £25m price tag isn’t a good look. The Premier League isn’t the SPFL, nor does Brighton have a bigger budget than every club in the league put together like his old team Celtic have.
Everton need players who can play, but they also need players who will fight for the badge. It should be a pre-requisite for any player, which makes O’Riley’s comments about having his defensive attitude questioned all the more worrying.
At Celtic, O’Riley was a bit of a flat track bully and could disappear in Old Firm derbies when the going got tough, even in ones in which his team won when he should have been dominating them.
A No.8 at Everton has to do it all, if O’Riley doesn’t want to get his hands dirty, maybe Moyes isn’t the manager for him.
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