Trevor Steven believes Amadou Onana has regressed since joining Everton last summer.
While covering the Toffees’ loss to Arsenal for talkSPORT, the former midfielder stated that the Belgian has yet to regain the form he had in his first five or six games with the club.
Onana joined Everton from Lille in a £33 million transfer last season and was one of their finest performers as they narrowly escaped relegation, making 33 Premier League matches.
The midfielder’s performances piqued the curiosity of Chelsea and Manchester United this summer, but Everton’s exorbitant asking price deterred any bidders, and he remained on Merseyside.
Under Sean Dyche, Onana has remained a regular, but has failed to impress this season. Steven, on the other hand, believes he has been underperforming for much longer than the last month.
Steven was quick to disagree after analyst Kevin Hatchard declared that Onana had been a ‘huge hit’ since joining Everton.
“He got off to a great start, didn’t he? But I don’t think he’s touched the levels of play that he did in his first five or six games for Everton.”
“The numbers will tell you that only [James] Tarkowski won more challenges, so I think he’s done a lot of work in that regard,” Hatchard responded.
“But I think the kind of lung-busting runs we saw in the first few games have become less and less of a factor.”
But, in terms of his efforts without the ball, I believe he has captured my attention.”
“You’re right,” Steven said, “it’s with the ball that he’s really struggled.”
Is Amadou Onana a good fit for Everton?
Last season, Onana never seemed like he’d lose his spot in Everton’s lineup, even though they didn’t have anyone better to bring in.
The coaching staff has previously conceded that he shouldn’t have played as many games as he did, and it’s possible that their lack of talent elsewhere has made supporters content with his subpar performances.
Despite his ties to some of the Premier League’s biggest names, he appears to be a long way from reaching the ranks of the finest midfielders in the league. However, he is only 22 years old and will definitely do great things with the proper manager.
