Goodison View: 'Different Class' Everton gem is sliver of hope as dark clouds shroud Dyche

Everton have struggled to rediscover their form from last season as the new 2024/25 Premier League campaign kicked off.

Sean Dyche was lauded for his incredible efforts to keep the Toffees in the Premier League last term, with the team eventually finishing 14 points above the dropzone despite being deducted a total of eight points.

The Toffees will need to discover a new source of magic if they are to get themselves out of this sticky situation, and new signing Tim Iroegbunam has been a shining light at Goodison Park so far.

Following far-from-ideal pre-season preparations, things have gone from bad to worse with three defeats in the league to Brighton, Tottenham and Bournemouth.

Despite scoring twice at home against the Cherries – their first goals of the league season – that match has been the most hurtful, throwing away the lead to lose 3-2 in a complete capitulation.

This has, understandably, led to doubts emerging around Dyche’s future at Goodison Park, with some ready to chuck the towel in already and find a new manager to take the reigns.

Tim Iroegbunam setting the standard at Everton

If the Toffees are to climb out of the relegation zone – and do it quickly – Iroegbunam’s teammates must play with the same fearlessness and tenacity as he does, even if it means making the odd mistake.

The 21-year-old lacks experience, having only made 20 first-team appearances for Aston Villa before making the switch to Merseyside, and that showed in the 4-0 loss to Spurs.

He had the fewest touches of anyone on the pitch (22), completed 25 per cent of his dribbles, and won just 27 per cent of his ground duels [FotMob].

Iroegbunam will have known that performance was not nearly good enough for the Toffees. However, he had the belief and determination to improve almost instantly, with Doncaster Rovers up next in the EFL Cup.

The youngster took the opportunity to prove himself with both hands, taking home a 9/10 rating and the Man of the Match award, as per FotMob, and was even labelled as “different class” by his manager [Liverpool World].

Not only did his passing accuracy improve to 85 per cent, he completed 88 per cent of his dribbles (7/8), entered into 11 tackles and won six of them (55%), and won 19 ground duels.

That is a vastly different player from the one who struggled at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and some of his teammates can take a lesson or two from the young star as the season goes on.

In other Everton news, Sean Dyche held transfer talks with a Pogba-like player before moving elsewhere.

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