Podcast pundit John Blain has been discussing Everton’s English central defender, Michael Keane.
Keane has been an Everton player since the summer of 2017 after the Toffees agreed to a deal which could’ve been worth up to a whopping £30m to secure his services from Burnley (per BBC).
Since then, he has made 107 appearances for the Goodison Park outfit in which he has bagged four goals and three assists (per Transfermarkt).
However, in the latest episode of the Talking the Blues podcast, Blain aired some criticism of the centre-back’s abilities.
He said: “I think Yerry Mina had a really good season, he’s got a bit of stick because around Project Restart he got injured and, therefore, Michael Keane stepped up.
“But [Carlo] Ancelotti tried to play, [after] the restart particularly I think, to the ability or the strength of the team and the mindset it was in, which meant we sat off teams.
“We allowed them to come onto us, which is a bit nerve-racking when you’re watching it, that made it better for Keane as a player because he doesn’t turn and so on.
“But Keane on the ball does nothing, he can’t carry the ball out.”
TIF Thoughts…
Seemingly, Blain felt that Ancelotti attempted to play to the strengths of the players he had available after the restart and that style suited Keane despite him offering nothing on the ball.
Do you believe that Michael Keane offers anything on the ball?
Yes, the criticism is harsh
No, the criticism is correct
Over the duration of the season, though, the English defender was Everton’s joint-fifth-best performer in the league with a solid 6.83/10 average rating (per WhoScored).
So, perhaps it should not be seen as a criticism that Ancelotti played a system which suited the players that he had available to him as it evidently worked for Keane.