View: 'Exceptional' ex-Everton ace shows Dyche exactly what he's missing with what he did today

Amadou Onana has shown Everton exactly what they’re missing after his “exceptional” first-half performance for Aston Villa in their Premier League clash against Tottenham on Sunday.

The Belgium international was sold to the Villans in the summer transfer window for a fee worth around £50million [Sacha Tavolieri, 21 July] after having a decent 2023/24 season in Merseyside.

Since his move to Unai Emery’s team, the 23-year-old seems to have come on leaps and bounds and his performance at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on 2 November has only epitomised that, even despite a second-half revival seeing Villa beaten 4-1.

Onana was a particular menace and it was his towering header that won the corner from which Villa ultimately took the lead.

His work on and off the ball caught the eye of Glenn Murray who, speaking on BBC Radio Five Live (3 November), said: “Amadou Onana has been outstanding. The way he reads the game and he understands he has to cover his full-backs.

“When he gets on the ball he always finds an Aston Villa shirt, he has been exceptional.”

Why Everton may have transfer regret over Amadou Onana

In the summer, it was made very clear that Onana’s future didn’t have Goodison Park in it. The midfielder had a fairly average Euro 2024 performance and many didn’t expect him to get the move he desired.

In the end, however, Emery took the plunge and made a massive bid for the Belgian that was too good for Sean Dyche to turn down.

Indeed, both Orel Mangala and Tim Iroegbunam were welcomed to the club as his replacements but neither of them are up to the same level that Onana is.

Ireogunam had a solid start to life at Goodison Park but since the injury he suffered a couple of weeks ago, it’s not yet known whether he’ll be able to perform to the same standards as he first showed.

Onana’s performance against Tottenham was one of his best of the season, he was covering his full-backs when they pushed forward and stopped as many of Spurs’ attacks as possible.

If the midfielder still plied his trade for the Merseyside outfit, they’d likely find themselves much higher up the Premier League table and far more solid defensively.

There were obviously financial reasons and Profit and Sustainability issues to consider with the sale, but seeing him perform so well with no doubt leave Dyche with a bit of regret at the fact he had to be moved on.

In other Everton news, Sean Dyche has shared what worried him about a controversy in the Toffees’ game against Southampton.

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