Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall came to Everton this summer with reasonable expectations. He was a good player for Leicester City, but the move to Chelsea and his subsequent struggles there tempered what supporters thought he could provide for Everton.
But since joining Everton, he's scored 3 goals, added two assists, and is now a candidate for both Premier League Player of the Month and Goal of the Month for his goal against Newcastle (alongside Iliman Ndiaye for his rocket against Sunderland) for November.
In short, he's been more than any Evertonian could have expected, no matter how high you might have been on him when he joined in the summer.
During Tuesday's win over Bournemouth at Vitality Stadium, KDH was asked to play a deeper-lying role when James Garner was forced to play right back due to an injury to Michael Keane, which pushed Jake O'Brien to center back. Dewsbury-Hall responded with an excellent performance, even if the role was different than he's been playing so far this season.
And if that wasn't enough, the midfielder endeared himself even more to the Everton faithful with his post-match comments about the change in his role. He told the Everton website that playing in the deeper role "felt good," and added, "I think my more natural position is probably an eight, box-to-box, but like I've always said, I'll play anywhere the manager wants me. It just happened today that I had to drop a bit deeper. I think the fans can see what I can bring to the game from that sort of area. I like to drive forward with the ball when I can, try and get on it, try and just help the team as much as I can in and out of possession."
This has to be music to the ears of each and every Evertonian, as Dewsbury-Hall clearly understands that it's more important that the team succeed than the midfielder getting to play in his more preferred position.
This sort of unselfishness will be key with the upcoming run of fixtures, especially with club stars Idrissa Gana Gueye and Ndiaye set to miss a key run of matches due to their participation in the Africa Cup of Nations for Senegal.
So the ability for Dewbury-Hall to play beside the likes of James Garner, Tim Iroegbunam, or Charly Alcaraz while still impacting the matches as he has so far during his Everton tenure will be vital to the Toffees staying in the top half of the Premier League table.
It won't be easy, but seeing one of the club's stars come out and make a statement like this should help alleviate some of the concern heading into the festive fixtures.