Having only brought in goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg and youngsters Bassala Sambou and Chris Ranshaw in the transfer window, Everton completed their first major signing of the summer earlier this week with the capture of Aston Villa midfielder Idrissa Gueye, after triggering the Senegal international’s £7.1 million buyout clause.
The 26-year-old agreed a four-year deal with the Merseysiders, and speaking about his first significant new addition since taking over at Goodison Park, Everton manager Ronald Koeman outlined what Toffees fans can expect from the former Lille midfielder:
“Idrissa will provide quality in our squad in the midfield and we want to increase the quality in the team. He was one of the players last season with the best record in interceptions and pressing in the midfield”.
The History
Gueye joined the Lille academy in 2008, having begun his footballing education at Diambars in his native Senegal. He spent the next three seasons playing for the ‘B’ side, before making his first-team debut during the 2010/11 campaign. The midfielder would go on to make 11 appearances as Lille won a league and cup double, featuring alongside the likes of Eden Hazard and Yohan Cabaye.
Cabaye’s departure to Newcastle allowed Gueye to establish himself in the midfield, and he subsequently made 25 appearances during the 2011/12 campaign, although he once again failed to register any attacking returns. The Senegal international would make a further 29 appearances the following season, only managing one assist, before establishing a key player for Les Dogues.
In the 2014/15 campaign, Gueye scored four goals from 32 league appearances, having only previously found the net once during his time in France, and also registered three assists. His performances attracted reported interest from the likes of Marseille and Premier League sides Southampton, West Ham and Crystal Palace, but it was Aston Villa who landed the midfielder last summer in a deal reportedly worth around £9 million.
The new boy earned just a single assist league outings, though his ball-winning displays in the centre of the park caught the eye in spite of Villa’s relegation to the Championship.
Gueye made his international debut in 2011, and has since racked up 33 appearances for Senegal, although he has yet to find the net for his country.
The Prospects
Whether in the 4-2-3-1 set-up Koeman mainly employed at Southampton, or the 3-5-2 trialled against Man United in midweek, it’s expected that Gueye will compete for a central midfield position along with James McCarthy and Gareth Barry.
Considering he ranked second only to N’Golo Kante last season for both successful tackles (108) and interceptions (141), the summer signing looks odds-on to establish himself as a regular starter as the new manager adds more energy in the centre of the park.
Gueye’s arrival on Merseyside should help provide some much needed protection in front of the back four, given the Toffees conceded 55 goals last season, with only the bottom five sides letting in more. The appointment of Koeman should also help in that regard, bearing in mind that Southampton held the joint-fifth best defensive record in the top flight last term, conceding just 41 goals.
So while Gueye’s Fantasy appeal is likely to be limited to games that reward defensive actions such as FanDuel and DraftKings, he should help bolster the appeal of their nailed on defenders such as Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman.
Both have seen their prices drop to 5.5 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) this season, and with Gueye’s presence in midfield likely to allow them more freedom to bomb forward down the flanks, we could see their attacking potential increase – certainly, Koeman’s decision to utilise the duo as wing-backs earlier this week has boosted their appeal.
Ramiro Funes Mori (5.0) is another to keep an eye on, though, given the Argentinian’s set-piece threat, having scored four goals in just 28 league matches last term, while he averaged a goal attempt every 97.1 minutes, better than the likes of Crystal Palace’s Scott Dann (114.8) and Leicester’s Wes Morgan (172.4).
In terms of the Everton midfield, Gueye – despite a favourable 5.0 price tag in FPL – is unlikely to merit our attention due to his little attacking threat.
Both Ross Barkley and Gerard Deulofeu have been impressive during pre-season thus far, with the latter having netted three times playing primarily as a “false nine” in the absence of Romelu Lukaku, after the Belgian was handed an extended break following his participation at the Euro 2016.
With speculation linking Lukaku with a return to Chelsea, Deulofeu may offer some out of position potential heading into Gameweek 1 should the Belgian depart, but that will likely be short lived, with Koeman certain to bring in attacking reinforcements before the transfer window closes.
Everton’s fixture list over the opening seven Gameweeks (TOT, wba, STO, sun, MID, bou, CPL) is particularly favourable though, facing just one of last season’s top eight, so Toffees players look good options as we look to finalise our initial 15-man squads.
So while Gueye himself offers little Fantasy appeal, his energy and ability to break up opposition attacks should be good news for the prospects of both the Everton defence and flair players such as Barkley and Deulofeu.
