View: Dyche may have already found his long-term Doucoure successor in Everton youth gem

Sean Dyche is likely hanging onto his Everton job due to the impending takeover of the club from The Friedkin Group.

For what feels like an eternity, the Toffees have been looking for someone to take them off of the hands of Farhad Moshiri and, finally, Dan Friekdin looks set to be that man.

The American businessman took a massive U-turn regarding the purchase of the club and, despite turning away from the deal initially, he ended up going back in to make a move for the Merseyside outfit.

The 2024/25 season has been full of ups and downs for Dyche’s men but one good thing to have come from the campaign is the rise of Harrison Armstrong.

The 17-year-old has been ripping it up for the Toffees’ youth teams this term and has even appeared four times for the senior squad.

And, with Abdoulaye Doucoure’s contract set to expire at the end of next season, they’ll likely want to source a replacement for the Frenchman sooner rather than later [The Athletic, 3 November 2023].

Speaking to the media in quotes relayed by the Liverpool Echo (13 December), Dyche shared his thoughts on Armstrong’s progress this season.

“It’s a funny thing with football. It’s like he just arrived on the scene, we’ve played him in the first team this season, he was with us from pre-season, I played him at Salford,” he said.

“It’s a funny thing, he scores a few goals and people go ‘wow, what about this kid?’ He’s been with us for months actually, and been doing what he’s doing, learning.

“I appreciate the fact that when I first saw him, I thought ‘hmm, I like him, so he can come with us. No more than that, he’s just another player who is developing, learning and working hard.”

Why could Harrison Armstrong be the Abdoulaye Doucoure successor Everton need?

The youngster has been used mainly in a central midfield role during his development years but there have also been times when he’s been deployed up top and on the left wing but his most natural position seems to be in the centre of the park.

The Toffees’ ranks were bolstered in the summer with Iliman Ndiaye and Tim Iroegbunam among those who arrived.

While Ndiaye was likely brought in as a number 10 to start off with, Dyche has opted to use the Senegal international on the left wing and stick with Dwight McNeil or Doucoure in the centre.

Indeed, McNeil is still fairly young and will no doubt help lead Everton’s attacking line for some seasons to come but as Doucoure is now entering the twilight stages of his career, a replacement will have to be sourced.

Armstrong is the perfect candidate as his goal-scoring prowess is evident and his vision for a pass has also been made more than known this term.

The fact he’s also been used by Dyche in the senior team this season speaks volumes about how much the former Burnley boss believes in him.

Time will only tell if he can fulfil his potential but at the moment, it feels like he should be able to manage it.

In other Everton news, Richard Dunne believes Chelsea could look at making a move for a Toffees ace in the near future.

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