Adam Aznou was once again missing from Everton’s matchday squad against Manchester United, and the situation with him feels concerning.
The Toffees lost their latest Premier League game 1-0 against United at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
What would your message to David Moyes be after the loss to United? 😡
He cannot find the answer at the Hill Dickinson…
David Moyes reacts during Burnley vs Everton at Turf Moor.
Credit: Getty Images/Richard Martin-Roberts – CameraSport
And as we have seen numerous times this campaign, David Moyes set up with two players who aren’t natural full-backs in the full-back roles.
James Garner moved back from midfield to cover Jake O’Brien’s absence through suspension on the right.
And Jarrad Branthwaite was preferred on the left, meaning no Adam Aznou once again – and his situation is definitely a concern.
Adam Aznou may wish he’d left Everton in January
Aznou was not even on the bench for Everton against United, which has been a recurring theme in recent weeks.
This was the fourth game in a row where he has not made the matchday squad, with Vitalii Mykolenko and now Branthwaite both clearly ahead of him in the pecking order.
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With Everton now having a mostly fully fit squad, there has been no place for the young Moroccan on the bench.
And this is a great shame, because Aznou arrived at Everton full of promise and fans were keen to see what he could do.
Adam Aznou playing for Everton.
Photo by George Wood/Getty Images
Having come from Bayern Munich for around £8 million (ESPN), there was excitement over Aznou. But to date, he’s made just one cameo appearance in the FA Cup.
Moyes admitted Aznou could have left Everton in January, and it would be no surprise if the player felt disappointment now that that didn’t happen.
Aznou had loan interest from Spain, but nothing materialised in the end.
A temporary exit would surely have been better than the current arrangement, which is him watching the first-team from afar and having no involvement on matchdays.
If things don’t change soon, he will surely be off in the summer. And maybe it won’t be out of the question he could actually leave permanently.
Aznou being at Everton next season looks increasingly unlikely
It is very telling that Vitalii Mykolenko can play like he has and not get benched.
And when Moyes finally does bench the Ukrainian, it’s for a player who is not a natural full-back, and someone who hasn’t long been back from a bad injury.
Adam Aznou and Thierno Barry are all smiles.
Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images
Aznou clearly isn’t fancied by the manager at the moment, and him still being an Everton player next season is starting to feel increasingly unlikely.
We’ve already seen Aznou express his frustrations about his situation, with the player responding to a fan on social media about his lack of game time, before he deleted the message.
Aznou was perhaps never going to make an immediate impact, but he – and also the fans – would surely have expected to play more than this.
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