Ronald Koeman thinks Everton need more players like Idrissa Gueye.
Everton manager Ronald Koeman has told the Liverpool Echo that the Toffees missed midfielder Idrissa Gueye against Chelsea on Saturday evening, and subsequently need to find another player like him.
The Toffees were torn apart against Chelsea on Saturday evening, as Koeman’s experiment with a three-man defence went terribly, as Antonio Conte’s men raced into a 2-0 lead before switching back to a four-man back line.
Everton manager Ronald Koeman
Three more goals meant that Chelsea ran out 5-0 winners, leaving Koeman to consider his response over the international break ahead of Everton’s meeting with Swansea City in a fortnight’s time.
One of the big problems for Everton was that midfielder Idrissa Gueye missed out through suspension, leaving the Toffees with a major hole to fill in the middle of the park.
The 27-year-old, snapped up from Aston Villa over the summer, has been vital to the Everton midfielder by racking up tackles and interceptions as well as achieving a high pass completion percentage, and his presence was certainly missed in the middle of the park.
West Ham United’s Simone Zaza in action with Everton’s Idrissa Gueye
Everton have few players who can match Gueye’s skill set, and Koeman won’t be pleased with how his side capitulated without Gueye, given that they’ll also be without him in the early stages of 2017 due to his participation in the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal.
After the final whistle against Chelsea, Koeman told the Liverpool Echo that Everton need more players like Gueye, as the Toffees missed his energy and aggression in the engine room – and that could be something that Everton look to address in the January transfer window, with Gueye heading to Gabon.
Everton manager Ronald Koeman
“Of course you miss that player because the reason why we signed Gana was because of his energy, his aggression in the midfield and winning second balls and of course you miss that player,” Koeman said. “We need more of those players because it is not always about qualities, it is about mentality and everything without the ball.”
“We need to learn and we need to change a lot of things when we don’t have the ball, how is our transition? How are we coming back it? Is it sprinting or is it at 80%? There was a big difference between Chelsea and Everton today,” he added.
Players like Gueye don’t grow on trees, and Leicester have found it difficult to replace N’Golo Kante, a player Gueye is often compared to. RB Leipzig’s Naby Keita, Sevilla’s Steven N’Zonzi or even Zenit St. Petersburg’s Axel Witsel would all fit the bill, and with money to spend thanks to Farhad Moshiri’s investment, Koeman may well be busy trying to find another midfielder in January.
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