Everton sweat on Amadou Onana injury issue after Leeds game
Amadou Onana came off during the second half of Saturday’s 1-0 win over Leeds United with a knee problem, but Everton boss Sean Dyche doesn’t think it’s too serious.
The Everton manager was speaking after the victory at Goodison Park as the young Belgian midfielder was replaced by Tom Davies after experiencing some difficulty earlier in the match.
Losing Onana for any length of time would be a huge blow for Dyche given how essential he, alonsgide Idrissa Gueye and Abdoulaye Doucoure, have become to the new manager and his system of playing.
Between them they have provided a strong and energetic midfield base, at least in the two home matches, against Arsenal and Leeds.
At the moment it looks as though Onana isn’t going to be out for a long time but of course it is not certain and given the Blues’ injury record it wouldn’t be a surprise if it turns out that he is more seriously hurt.
Onana has had an up and down time since he joined the Toffees’ in the summer. He soon showed the talent that made him one of the most sought after midfielders in Europe.
But, while his athleticism, energy, power and ability on the ball were sometimes in evidence, at other times he also seemed uncertain of what he was doing, often losing the ball cheaply as he tried to adjust to the pace of the Premier League.
And, he also appeared to be unsure of what exactly his role in the team was. That was partly a problem with how his first Everton manager, Frank Lampard, was often tempted to keep switching his team and tactics around.
It is still not entirely clear whether long-term Onana is better suited to be a deeper-lying, holding and primarily defensive midfielder or if he is a more box-to-box player like Doucoure.
Under Dyche, he has been playing in a more all-round midfield role alongside Doucoure, with Gueye sitting in front of the back four.
The new manager is keeping it simple tactically and focusing on building a team around the instinctive qualities of his players.
This is working, again, at least at Goodison Park and Onana looks a lot more confortable and certain about his role and what he’s doing now.
If he is out for any length of time it will leave a big hole in that midfield, particularly as Tom Davies still doesn’t convince and the other midfield summer signing James Garner is not fit either.
Onana’s ability and youthful energy will also surely be an important figure if there is any chance that this Everton team can find what will be needed in the next few months to avoid relegation.