Iliman Ndiaye looks set to continue in his role playing wide on the left for Everton after Sean Dyche expressed his belief that that is the best position for the Senegal international.
Ndiaye has been a revelation since arriving from Marseille in a £17m deal over the summer but there were many observers who felt that a big factor behind his struggles to make an impact in Ligue 1 was the fact that he was consistently deployed out wide when his skills appear more suited to playing behind the striker.
There have been calls from many quarters now that he is at Everton for Dyche to either deploy Ndiaye as a No 10 or, at the very least, rotate him with Dwight McNeil during matches, but the manager appears convinced that operating on the left flank is the best way for the former Sheffield United star to impact games.
“Currently, he’s doing well coming off the left,” Dyche said of the 24-year-old who has scored three goals in all competitions so far this season. “People keep telling me I should be playing him in the Number 10 [position] but there’s no evidence to suggest that he should be playing as a Number 10. People keep telling me my role as a manager, as they do.
“I think he can adapt to play there but the modern Number 10, you have to defend from there as well. You see Dwight McNeil doing very well on the defensive side.
“It’s not as easy as people think, getting in the right passing lane, stopping the opposition and then, on the turnover and transition in play, attacking in the right format and learning how to do that consistently over 90, 95 minutes.
“So that can be developed over time but, at the moment, I think he’s doing a good job coming off the left. He can wriggle, he can affect [the play], and he can drive into the box and I think he’s doing well with that.
“I think he’s still young in his Premier League learning, that’s for sure, and he’s still adapting, so we’re letting him go a little bit whilst coaching him as well.”