New Everton signing receives glowing praise after debut, with starting spot now his
A pundit has backed Amadou Onana to start for Everton against Nottingham Forest at the weekend after his impressive debut at Aston Villa on Saturday.
Everton spent £34million to bring Onana to the Premier League from Lille. West Ham had agreed a deal with the French club for Onana, but they couldn’t meet his wage demands.
As such, the Toffees swooped in and announced the central midfielder’s arrival on a five-year contract.
Onana didn’t make the squad for the 1-0 defeat to Chelsea on the first weekend of the new Premier League season. But he went on to make his debut in the following game against Villa.
The Belgian came off the bench in the 81st minute to replace Demarai Gray, with Everton looking for an equaliser after going 1-0 down.
Unfortunately for Onana, his debut did not start off well. He lost the ball in midfield and Villa pounced. Emi Buendia linked up with Ollie Watkins before finishing into an open net to give Villa a two-goal cushion.
While some players would have let their heads go down, Onana did exactly the opposite. He got the ball soon after kick-off and bullied his way into the opposition penalty area.
He showed some nice footwork before putting a dangerous ball across goal. Lucas Digne tried to clear but could only bundle the ball over his own goal line, under pressure from Alex Iwobi.
Amadou Onana backed to get opportunity vs Forest
Everton couldn’t get a second goal and ultimately lost 2-1 in the West Midlands. But Onana’s cameo left a big impression and he could now be given a starting spot in the Everton midfield.
Former player Noel Whelan thinks either Abdoulaye Doucoure or Iwobi could be dropped for Onana in the clash against Forest.
During an interview with Football Insider, the pundit said: “I think we saw why they brought him in to the football club – even in that short time on the field.
“He almost scored a goal himself; he got into a great position.
“He’s one player now that I don’t think Everton can afford to keep off the pitch for too long.
“I think they need these new signings to bed in very quickly. They can’t afford to wait around for him to adjust to the Premier League.
“He’s got to be on the field from the start in the next game.”
Everton’s other summer signings are Conor Coady, James Tarkowski, Ruben Vinagre and Dwight McNeil.
They are all good additions to the squad, especially Coady and Tarkowski. The two defenders were captains at their previous clubs and should bring leadership to the Everton defence, as well as extra steel.
The Merseyside outfit could bring more new faces into the squad, too. According to a Belgian journalist, Michy Batshuayi may arrive at Goodison Park as part of a player-plus-cash deal for Anthony Gordon to join Chelsea.
