Which of Everton's fringe players have taken their chance?

Over the past month or so, Everton have been stripped of most of their best players.

Idrissa Gueye and Iliman Ndiaye — now Africa Cup of Nations champions — have been away at that tournament since December 15th, last playing against Chelsea two days earlier. That match at Stamford Bridge was also the last time Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall featured for David Moyes’ side, as he sustained a hamstring issue early on against his former club.

Jarrad Branthwaite is just back in training after recovering from a long-term injury lay-off, while Jack Grealish has missed matches due to illness and suspension, and he now faces months on the sidelines due to a foot injury.

The losses of Michael Keane, Carlos Alcaraz and Tim Iroegbunam have not helped, further limiting Moyes' squad options.

But, amid all these absences, it has meant that those on the fringes of Moyes’ thinking have been handed opportunities, to varying degrees of success, both in terms of performances and minutes. 

Everton will have Ndiaye, Gueye and possibly even Branthwaite back for next week’s clash with Leeds United. Dewsbury-Hall has returned to light training.

So, as the key players near a return, let’s assess how the fringe players have done.

NATHAN PATTERSON

Is Nathan Patterson longed to be at Everton beyond this summer? It looks unlikely. If Everton were to, shock horror, sign a right-back this window, then Patterson may even be on the move before the end of the month.

But Patterson has now made three starts, and has featured from the bench a couple of times, too, since he returned from injury. And overall, it’s fair to say he has performed well enough.

He has not been spectacular, but he provides balance, as a natural right-back. If Everton could just get out of their own way and actually sign a competent player for that role (and at left-back), then it shows how this team could be quite easily transformed. Patterson, though, has done well enough to be worthy of a place in the team for now. That being said, maintaining his fitness has always been the Scotland international’s biggest hurdle.

MERLIN RÖHL

It’s fair to say it has been something of a mixed bag for Merlin Röhl. He has largely looked rusty since returning from a hernia operation, but he has also had to play in different positions in midfield, and even filling in at right-back.

He had a bit of a shocker against Sunderland, but did show some promise with his ball-carrying ability, and after a full week of rest (and training), the German refined those positives in the win at Villa Park on Sunday.

Röhl does tend to want a bit too long on the ball, but his versatility, his stature and ability to progress the ball is a real bonus to have. He is definitely not a number 10, but playing in a three-man midfield, he has proven he can be a viable option.

Everton will sign him permanently in the summer, and it’s worth remembering he is only 23.

TIM IROEGBUNAM

Of all the players on this list, Iroegbunam has probably done the most to really stake his claim.

A hamstring issue has kept him out of Everton’s last two games, but before then, the former Aston Villa midfielder had impressed.

He can be extremely frustrating — his habit of getting a toe into the tackle, but then not winning the ball cleanly, is almost as grating as his poor decision-making at the end of a fantastic run when he has options on. And he does still lack positional discipline.

Iroegbunam is athletic, though, and gets around the pitch well. He covers the ground, is happy to go into a challenge, and definitely does have nice feet.

Everton will need to eventually move away from Gueye, who is 36, and the Toffees probably need to go out and spend big on a midfielder, but Iroegbunam has definitely put himself in Moyes’ thoughts for the rest of the season.

DWIGHT MCNEIL

If there are question marks over Patterson’s Everton future, then there really shouldn't be too many over Dwight McNeil.

The winger’s contract is up in 2027, and for all parties, it is best if a line is drawn in the next six months or so, and that McNeil is sold.

It has been frustrating, at times, to see McNeil get minutes out on the right, where he is largely ineffective, over Tyler Dibling, who should represent Everton’s future. McNeil is very much part of Everton’s past.

And most of his performances have demonstrated that. This writer would never accuse McNeil of being lazy, but he has hardly seemed to get himself out of first gear.

There have been flashes, though: His assist for James Garner’s opener against Nottingham Forest was fantastic, while he put in a disciplined display at Villa Park and played a part in Thierno Barry’s winner.

McNeil has a great left foot, but he is so one-footed, and one-paced, and Everton are trying to move away from it.

But he does have quality and, vitally for Moyes, Premier League experience. But please, let’s all move on in the summer and get a winger with genuine pace.

TYLER DIBLING

Much has been expected of Dibling, perhaps unfairly so. However, that is going to happen when a club spends around £40million on a winger, when there was a vital requirement for that player to be ready to hit the ground running, will always bring pressure.

Dibling was not used enough by Moyes earlier in the season, that is fair to say.

It is also fair to say that Dibling has not really made the most of the opportunities he has been given.

The irony is, most fans seem to think this is because Moyes does not trust the teenager to do the dirty work defensively. Yet this writer actually feels it is down to Dibling not getting into his stride in an attacking sense.

Dibling looks far too fearful to show what he is good at. Perhaps that is at least partly down to the manager, but part of being a top-level footballer will be Dibling developing that self-confidence.

He showed what he can do in flashes against Burnley and Forest, and he keeps the ball exceptionally well. But let’s now see more bravery, more drive. Sure, Moyes should not see him as an easy drop, or an easy sub, but Everton fans will ensure they are on your side — and not the manager’s — if they see genuine effort, desire and a bit of quality to go with it. 

ADAM AZNOU

Adam Aznou’s only senior minutes came in the FA Cup tie against Sunderland, and let’s be honest, it was probably nothing more than Moyes throwing the youngster a bit of a bone as the match ebbed towards its conclusion.

Aznou, though, came on and swung the game, winning Everton a penalty to force extra time, and displaying the kind of drive, pace and tenacity that had been badly lacking from starting wide players McNeil and Dibling.

The Moroccan will no doubt be frustrated that he has not got more minutes, and he did make Moyes look a bit daft. But you can also point to his physicality and see why Everton’s coaching staff are reluctant to throw him in at left-back.

But when Everton are chasing a game, then surely Aznou could be an option, either at left-back or on the left wing, allowing Grealish to move centrally? 

HARRISON ARMSTRONG

For all the talk of Moyes not trusting youth, Harrison Armstrong — out of necessity — returned from his loan at Preston North End and has taken his chance with both hands.

Armstrong made a substitute appearance against Brentford and has since started three straight games in midfield.

He has just turned 19, and yet he has demonstrated maturity well beyond his years, and the kind of grit that someone like Dibling may well look to replicate.

As the likes of Dewsbury-Hall, Gueye and Alcaraz return, then the best choice for Armstrong’s development may well be that he returns to Preston at the end of the transfer window, but he has definitely given Everton a decision to make.

And if he were to stay, there is no doubt he is good enough to play when needed. The balance is what is best for him right now.

 

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