Everton manager Marco Silva has hinted that Kieran Dowell is in his first team plans this season, despite the 20-year-old earning just one appearance this season.
Dowell completed 90 minutes of the Toffees’ Carabao Cup win against Rotherham last month, but is yet to feature in the Premier League despite being one of the most highly rated players to come through the club’s academy in recent years.
However Silva is suggesting that he does have a role to play as he saw him as being above Nikola Vlasic in the attacking midfield’s pecking order at Goodison Park.
When explaining Vlasic’s loan move to CSKA Moscow, Silva told the Liverpool Echo: “We have to take decisions and sometimes when you take a decision it looks, in that moment, not the best decision for the player.
“When you have three of four players for one position. Last season we had, for the same position, Gylfi, Rooney, Vlasic, Davy Klaassen and others can play there and Vlasic can also play on the sides but this is not his best position.
“He feels more comfortable playing behind the striker but this season we have Gylfi, we have Kieran and you can also play there with Bernard as well.”
OPINION
Croatian ace Vlasic has been more than underwhelming since his £10million switch to Goodison Park last summer and it is good that Silva is choosing up and coming English players over him in the pecking order. While it is always a good thing to keep an eye out for promising youngsters outside of the UK, it is without doubt a better idea to produce your own talent and that appears to be what Silva is doing with Dowell. However some Everton fans will not be happy with how little Vlasic has played so far this season. He was very good against Rotherham last month but is yet to get a sniff in the Premier League. Everton do have a massive lack of balance in the attacking midfield positions though, so just because Dowell was above Vlasic in Silva’s plans, doesn’t mean he is going to get much game time as many would have hoped.