Following the exit of Romelu Lukaku in the summer, Everton suffered a huge dent in the attacking line-up. Oumar Niasse and Dominic Calvert-Lewin have currently filled up the position as the team sits in the 13th spot of the Premier League table.
Niasse faced a two-match ban for simulation against Crystal Palace in a 2-2 draw. He is currently the first player to serve a penalty for diving in the Premier League. The club’s appeal was rejected and the fans were left in despair after the 4-1 loss to Southampton. It seemed that it might further agonize their poor start to the season.
However, the tide seems to be turning their way after the sacking of Ronald Koeman as Everton climbed themselves out of relegation with a 4-0 win against West Ham United mid-week.
The new manager Sam Allardyce is pleased to get two key players of the team, Niasse and Michael Keane back before the weekend clash against Huddersfield. He is motivated and is ready to work towards getting the team back to winning ways.
“Big Sam” is widely admired in the English footballing community for his no-nonsense style of management while grinding out teams from relegation battles. His impact on clubs has been pretty immediate on the appointment, as he looks to do the same with Everton.
Oumar Niasse’s career at Everton has been less than impressive up until this season. He was sent out on loan to Hull City last season and also was made to play with the U-23s in October 2016. But he has fought his way back into the first team nabbing 6 goals in 9 appearances.
The 27-year-old has been instrumental in the teams attack with his strength and dribbling skills alongside Wayne Rooney and Gylfi Sigurdsson. It would be highly profitable for the Toffees to see his run of form continue under the new manager.
Sam Allardyce has expressed his concern over the Everton’s game schedule for the season, faced with Europa League and domestic cup matches along with the intensity of the Premier League. They are set to face 7 games in December alone which will test the depth and tenacity of the squad. Their recovery time will be quite short and he will require every player in the squad to face the gruelling campaign.
The Everton team is currently well stacked after a net expenditure of over 54 million pounds in the summer. They just need start putting in better performances to fight back to a European competition qualification spot to justify their heavy investments and their high ambitions.
