Amongst the many good performances from Everton’s thrilling 3-3 draw away at Old Trafford on Saturday, it was the understated one of Tom Davies that left many Blues most impressed.
The 22-year-old has shown a mixed profile across the bulk of his early career at Goodison Park, uncertainty about his best position on the pitch added with an inability to sustain a consistent run in team for different managers all generating debate about his long term Everton future.
Yet, under Carlo Ancelotti, he’s enjoyed a recent solid run in the team.
And as a result, it looks to be producing arguably some of his best Everton form to date.
His spell in the starting 11 has coincided with a hamstring injury suffered by summer recruit Allan, meaning Davies has occupied a deeper role in his absence.
And he has been tasked with moving the ball accurately and efficiently whilst also looking to break up opposition attacking moves.
Davies has always illustrated himself as a player with a capacity to play a wide range of different passes, and we saw his varied range in full flow at Old Trafford on Saturday night.
Yet, his role as a ‘destroyer’ has previously been underrated.
This could be on the back of last season in which he and Andre Gomes often looked defensively deficient and regularly exposed in Ancelotti’s 4-4-2 system.
However, this season, better-suited systems and energetic personnel around him have aided Davies’ ability to become a much greater asset when Everton are without the ball.
So far, the midfielder ranks inside the top five at club for the highest number of pressures made per 90, which is what you may expect from someone playing predominantly in the centre of the pitch.
However, he also impressively has the second-highest success rate from those pressures too.
It’s likely that Davies may be sacrificed for Allan when the former Napoli man returns from his hamstring injury and is available again for selection.
Yet, the former Everton academy star has shown enough so far this season to highlight that he’s still got a bright future at the club and for the time being, he can at very least be relied upon to do an adequate job in the first-team whenever Ancelotti needs him.
