Allan, Doucoure give Everton tactical flexibility

With news over the past 24 hours or so that Everton are perhaps closing in on not one but two potential midfield recruits, what tactical options would having both Allan and Abdolaye Doucoure give the Blues?

There have been reports that Everton are bidding for both these two players and the general consensus is that perhaps signing Doucoure is a back-up plan if the Toffees can’t get the Allan deal over the line.

I’m not sure that is the plan, I think that actually Ancelotti wants both of them, if he can get them of course.

Here’s why. Looking at the two players they are quite different types and so will offer what I hope would be complimentary roles in the team.

Allan is a tigerish ball-winner who will roam from box-to-box and although he is a good, accurate and progressive passer of the ball who doesn’t often lose possession when he’s won it, he is not a truly creative player.

Doucoure is a more instinctively attack-minded midfielder who is at his best when playing in a more advanced position getting on the ball, carrying it forward and supporting the strikers.

He will track back and tackle too but he’s not really a ball-winner as such. If you look at his play, he tends to most effective in that final third rather than as an orthodox central midfielder.

So I think that perhaps Ancelotti envisages the two of them complimenting each other’s strengths in a new-look midfield pairing.

Yes I know Doucoure didn’t exactly light up the Premier League last season and it is a concern whether his best creative and goal-scoring days are behind him, but has got decent returns in previous campaigns.

However, I do think he would benefit from playing in a better team and although the Blues weren’t much better than Watford in 2019-20, hopefully with new recruits and Ancelotti’s input they will be next season!

I also think there may be another element to this as well. Although Ancelotti favoured a 4-4-2 formation as his default setting so to speak last season, he has said he would certainly consider other formations and tactics next season.

In the past, at other clubs, he’s been quite flexible with his tactics adjusting them to the talent he has at his disposal.

So I think last season he realised that 4-4-2 was the most defensively solid formation and one the players seem to respond to best under temporary manager Duncan Ferguson, so he stuck to it.

We saw though towards the back end of the last campaign when the league resumed, that he was willing to experiment.

Some of those experimental systems didn’t work but he did go back to Marco Silva’s 4-2-3-1 formation when Everton beat Sheffield United in what was probably the team’s best overall performance of the post-lockdown period.

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Bringing in both Allan and Doucoure could give Ancelotti even more tactical flexibility going forward next season.

He could line-up with a 4-3-1-2 in which Gomes, Gbamin and Allan, played in midfield and Doucoure played behind the front two in a sort of No 10 role.

Or if he has the right support out wide, he could try a 5-3-2/3-5-2 with Doucoure and Allan playing alongside say Andre Gomes or Jean-Philippe Gbamin in that central three.

In addition these different tactical formations might help overcome the problem of finding and being able to afford the quality wide players who can make an orthodox 4-4-2 work properly.

Anyway all this is purely speculation on my part, as always first of all have to wait and see of Everton can get one or both of these players in.