Dwight McNeil has made an impressive start to the season in a different role to the one Everton fans might have expected.
Traditionally a wide player, the Englishman has found great joy in the number 10 role in the middle of the park.
The first three games of the Premier League season saw him start in his usual position of left midfielder but the last five have seen McNeil playing centrally.
The first three matches saw the Toffees lose 3-0 to Brighton and 4-0 to Tottenham as well as a 3-2 loss to Bournemouth at home in which they threw away a 2-0 lead.
Since then, McNeil has found himself playing as an attacking midfielder and results have majorly improved. The Blue’s have won 2, drawn 2 and lost only 1 to Aston Villa.
McNeil has also contributed to an increased number of goals for Everton with three goals and three assists in the opening eight Premier League games including two decisive goals in a 2-1 against Crystal Palace.
The Everton midfielder has also increased the number of shots he is taking per game. In the opening three matches he managed only three shots in which two were blocked and one hit the target.
However, since he has moved inside the field, McNeil has managed 12 efforts, finding the target on five occasions.
It is worth noting that McNeil has created fewer chances since his switch to a central role. Despite his side scoring only two goals during his start on the left, McNeil created 13 chances, one more than his 12 created in the next five games. He averaged a chance creation of 4.3 a game out wide in comparison to 2.4 a game in the ten role.
He also achieved more expected assists out on the left, averaging 0.51 expected assists in comparison to his 0.34 in the central role.
Sean Dyche has praised Dwight McNeil for his performances in his new position believing that he could add more goals to his game.
He said, “He’s got a very strong left foot and if we get him the ball in the right areas I think he could score more goals”.
The Everton boss admitted that he is still adapting to the role but believes that he has potential to be able to grow into it.
He said: “There is still a lot for him to learn, particularly on the defensive side but he has to be able to adjust and go back wide when we need him to”.
💬 "He's enjoying it I think. I think there's still a lot for him to learn, particularly on the defensive side of the game, but in attack, we know that he can score, we know he can set goals up."
🗣️ Sean Dyche on deploying Dwight McNeil in the number 10 role
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— BBC Sport Merseyside (@bbcmerseysport) October 24, 2024
