The Everton squad circa 2015 will be a group of players that is fondly remembered by Toffees fans. In an era where they are currently struggling for any kind of form under Sean Dyche, reminiscing over old squads might make the Everton faithful miss players of yesteryear, and the squad almost a decade ago was certainly full of nostalgic players.
That was an era with Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman in their primes, classic fullbacks who are some of the Premier League’s most underrated players. Romleu Lukaku was about to have the season of a lifetime in Blue, and a young Ross Barkley was thriving in midfield.
Another player who was arguably the Toffee’s most exciting attacker in that era was winger Gerard Deulofeu.
Gerard Deulofeu’s stats for Everton
A dynamic, tricky winger, Deulofeu was one of the Toffees’ biggest cult heroes circa 2015. He initially joined the club on loan for the 2013/14 campaign, before spending a year playing in his native Spain for Sevilla on loan from Barcelona, although he was injured for much of that season.
He clearly left a lasting impression on the Toffees, who agreed a deal with Barca in 2015 to re-sign the attacker. They paid £4.3m to bring him back to Goodison Park, signing an initial three-year deal.
He did not see out all three of those seasons, moving to AC Milan on loan for the second half of the 2016/17 campaign, before rejoining Barca in the summer of 2017. However, in that 2015/16 campaign, Deulofeu was electric.
The winger, who has been capped four times by Spain, played 33 times for the Toffees in his first season back at the club, scoring four goals and grabbing an impressive 12 assists. Of those goal involvements, ten came in the Premier League in 26 games, with the winger scoring twice and grabbing eight assists.
Sadly, his Everton career curtailed from there, and the Spaniard did not score again for the Toffees in the following campaign. However, he will no doubt be fondly remembered for his direct nature and crucial goals and assists.
In Dyche’s current squad, there is a similar player to Deulofeu, who Toffees fans will be hoping can have a similar impact and keep them in the Premier League this term. That player is Iliman Ndiaye.
Ndiaye’s season so far
Former Sheffield United attacker Ndiaye was a summer signing by the Toffees. According to BBC Sport, Everton paid French side Olympique Marseille a reported fee of £15m, on a five-year deal.
It has been a poor season for Dyche’s men so far, who find themselves in 16th place on four points, having conceded 15 goals already this campaign; only Wolves have let more in. They got their first win of the season last Saturday against Crystal Palace and a point the week before away to relegation rivals Leicester City.
Ndiaye was a crucial part of the draw against the Foxes, scoring his first league goal for the club to give them an early lead, although they could not hold on for the three points. He also got on the score sheet in the Carabao Cup against Doncaster Rovers.
He is one of only five players to get a goal or assist this season, in what has been a very poor start to the campaign for the Toffees. They have thrown away a 2-0 lead on two separate occasions in the top flight.
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Everton most G/A in 2024/25 PL so far |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Player |
Games |
Mins per game |
G/A |
|
Dwight McNeil |
6 |
89 |
5 |
|
Dominic Calvert-Lewin |
6 |
84 |
3 |
|
Ashley Young |
4 |
84 |
2 |
|
Iliman Ndiaye |
6 |
66 |
1 |
|
Michael Keane |
5 |
90 |
1 |
|
Stats from Sofascore |
|||
Former Everton winger Aaron Lennon, a teammate of Deulofeu back in 2015, was full of praise for the Senegalese winger on talkSPORT last week. He called Ndiaye a “match-winner”, praising Dyche for putting him on the left wing, and explaining that he can strike up a formidable partnership with Dwight McNeil.
While it was McNeil who bailed Dyche out at the weekend after bagging a brilliant brace against the Eagles to seal a first win of the campaign, it is Ndiaye on the left flank who could well get bums of seats at Goodison this season.
It does feel like an area from which he can hurt an opposition, cutting inside and driving at the defence, just as Deulofeu used to do for the Toffees. It could prove to be an inspired move from the former Burnley manager, who is looking to keep Everton in the Premier League once again.