Abdoulaye Doucoure has cast doubt on his Everton future and said he is not sure if he wants to stay at the club.
The midfielder was superb in Everton’s 5-1 hammering of Brighton on Monday, scoring twice and providing energy and dynamism.
Doucoure, 30, has been rejuvenated since Sean Dyche arrived at Goodison Park. He had been disciplined by Frank Lampard before the former manager was sacked, being told to train on his own after a dressing-room row-over attitude, but has not put a foot out of line in training under the new regime.
So it came as a surprise to hear him speak so bluntly about what the summer might hold.
Everton has the option of extending his contract by 12 months — something Dyche has intimated they would be prepared to do — but the Mali international did not seem convinced.
Everton has a number of players whose deals are up at the end of the campaign and all discussions have been put to one side until they know which division they will be playing in. But Doucoure admitted there are a lot of things on his mind.
Asked if he wanted to stay next season, Doucoure said: ‘The club knows my position since a year ago. Now it is becoming very difficult for us to find something well between us — to find an agreement.
‘I’m focused on keeping Everton up and then everything else will come after. To be honest, I don’t know (if I want to stay). I can’t say now, I don’t know.
‘I have done my job, so now it is up to the club to say what they want from me.’
He hasn’t quite done his job. Everton took a big leap towards saving themselves on the south coast but there is still work to do and there can be no relaxing — a big reason the club finds itself in such a delicate predicament is because too many have been inconsistent this season.
Doucoure, who at one stage in January looked as if he was going to be reunited with his former Watford manager Marco Silva at Fulham, hasn’t always shown the levels he displayed at Brighton and it must be hoped he takes this performance on, and remembers the platform he has been given.
He had just served a three-match ban for a red card received when he slapped Harry Kane in the face, and many felt Doucoure owed his team a performance of this nature. He says there was no pressure on him from Dyche but it did feel as if he played with a point to prove.
‘Red cards can happen,’ said Doucoure. ‘Everybody makes mistakes. My job is just to come back and help the team as always. The manager responded brilliantly for me and said I did not need to apologize — he always had faith in me.
‘It was really hard (to watch from the sidelines). It was a stupid red card. I should have avoided it — especially at the moment. But I feel good and feel I can help the team so much. I think it was a good response. I worked hard.
‘Everybody knows I was out of the team but it was not a massive thing. What is more important is the club — how I play, how the manager works with me, and how the team works with me. These are the most important things.
‘The past is the past and now I focus on Everton.’
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Jim White stunned by Everton development, says it ‘defied logic’ live on talkSPORT
Jim White claims it “defied logic” that Everton won 5-1 away at Brighton on Monday to move out of the Premier League relegation zone.
Everton’s Premier League safety now lies in their own hands as their win at the AMEX leaves them 17th on 32 points, two points clear of Leicester and Leeds in 18th and 19th respectively, with three games to play.
Simon Jordan believes that a shock result was always on the cards in the Premier League’s relegation battle this season after White shared his failure to believe what he saw on the south coast on 8 May.
Speaking on talkSPORT on Tuesday (9 May, 10:09 am), White said: “I mean, the game as we know can throw up shocks.
“But that defied belief – that defied logic. No one could have seen that coming.
“It was the first time Everton have scored three first-half goals in the Premier League since 2018.
“No wonder we didn’t see it coming.”
Jordan replied: “You look at these games that these three sides have got that are really contesting the bottom-three spots, which are Leeds, Nottingham Forest, and Everton. They are probably the ones that are most challenged.
“And you look at it and think, ‘there’s got to be a result that comes out of nowhere, a freak result’.
“On paper, that looks like it.”
Unbelievable, indeed
If you were told that Everton would win at Brighton, you’d assume it would have been a smash-and-grab 1-0 victory wouldn’t you?
No one would have guessed that a Sean Dyche side that’s struggled for goals all season would smash five goals past Europa League-chasing Brighton, who’ve been the surprise package in the league this term.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin seems to finally be getting back to his best, or at least near to the best level he was once at.
Dwight McNeil showed his ruthless side while Abdoulaye Doucoure proved why he has the ability to be one of the best midfielders in the Premier League outside of the big six.
It was a monumental victory, built on the foundations of a very strong defense where Jordan Pickford played brilliantly in goals.
Can we stay up?
It’s still going to be difficult because if we can do that at Brighton, what’s stopping Forest from picking up six points against Chelsea and Arsenal in their next two games?
Nothing is certain.
