New Everton manager Rafa Benitez is getting towards his second week of work on the training ground at Finch Farm as his Blues squad start to ramp up the preparations of the 2021/22 season.
The majority of the Everton squad returned to Finch Farm last week and took part in their first sessions under their new boss, having seen Carlo Ancelotti surprisingly leave the club over the course of the summer.
Having begun last week with a series of tests designed to check the fitness of each individual, they ended it by taking on Accrington Stanley in a training match behind-closed-doors.
The Blues secured a 3-0 win in that game thanks to goals from Tom Cannon, Lewis Gibson and Anthony Gordon but more senior stars such as James Rodriguez, Andre Gomes and a fit-again Jean-Philippe Gbamin all featured.
Benitez will continue to increase the load on his players ahead of their fixtures in the Florida Cup at the end of the month, and Everton have released more behind-the-scenes pictures from the training ground on Thursday.
Here's four things we spotted from the latest images.
Kean returns
Having completed his quarantine period on returning to the country, Moise Kean watched the Accrington game at the weekend and is now training again with his Everton team-mates.
With no permanent offer seemingly forthcoming from Paris Saint-Germain, where he spent last season on loan, and the Blues having no appetite to offer him out again on a temporary basis to the petrodollar-fuelled French outfit who are one on of the richest clubs in the world, Kean’s future remains unclear.
If a suitable fee for the Italian international, who joined Everton to much fanfare in 2019 in a £25million deal from Juventus cannot be agreed upon then the 21-year-old will have to knuckle down and do his best for Benitez.
Given his undoubted talent, it would be a shame to give up on him but if the Blues do sell it must be on their own terms and for a decent profit.
Captain Coleman
Model professional Seamus Coleman is about to start his 13 th season at Everton and it seems that new boss Benitez is already a fan.
Previous manager Ancelotti suggested the Irishman could carry on playing at the top until he is 40 years old and although Benitez wouldn’t confirm whether the 32-year-old will retain the captaincy under him, he had plenty of good things to say, declaring: “He is an inspiration for everyone. He is a very good professional. He is very helpful for me. He can be a key player. I like him as a player and as a person.”
The pair were subsequently pictured together with Coleman appearing to be listening intently while Benitez gestured a forward thrusting motion with his hand.
Benitez’s hands-on approach
Although he is usually suited and booted on matchdays – apart from the infamous time he fell out with previous Liverpool owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett and repeatedly trotted out the line: “As always I am focused on training and coaching my team” at a press conference, Benitez is very much a tracksuit manager in his approach.
Whereas predecessor Ancelotti was more an ‘arm around the shoulder’ type man-motivator who might take something of a back seat during training sessions while delegating duties to his staff, the Spaniard, who is renowned as an astute tactician and stickler for detail, appeared to be at the thick of things throughout, issuing plenty of specific instructions for his squad.
A fresh start for Baningime
It will be four years in October since a teenage Beni Baningime made his senior debut for Everton in a League Cup tie against Chelsea but despite appearing a dozen times that term he hasn’t featured in a first team match for the club since Sam Allardyce was in charge.
Now just a couple of months shy of his 23 rd birthday, the midfielder is about to enter the final year of his Blues contract.
Pictured on the other side of Ben Godfrey from new boss Benitez, after not being picked by either Marco Silva or Carlo Ancelotti, the DR Congo-born player will be hoping to catch the Spaniard’s eye.
He’s subsequently had a couple of spells in the Championship with Wigan Athletic and Derby County but totalled just three appearances.
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