Big man for the big occasion
Pep Guardiola might not be his biggest fan but just seconds before what was surely his penultimate game for the club, Yerry Mina scored a goal that could ensure Evertonians will always raise a glass to him for the rest of his days.
Arriving at Goodison Park from Barcelona after his exploits for Colombia at the 2018 World Cup finals where he headed in three goals – including one against future club colleague Jordan Pickford – Mina’s time on Merseyside has been largely underwhelming due to a series of injury problems. Out of the 189 Premier League matches Everton have played since he signed for the club, the centre-back has turned out on just 85 occasions.
Over this same period, the Blues have gone from prising stars like himself, Lucas Digne and Andre Gomes from the Camp Nou and top-half finishes to fighting for their Premier League lives and a January transfer window in which they were the only team in the battle to stay up not to strengthen their squad – despite the £45million sale of former home-grown hero Anthony Gordon. It’s been a sharp decline with too many high-profile and expensive acquisitions like Mina failing to live up to their potential.
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For all the disappointment, though, when Mina has been able to get himself onto the pitch, his performance levels have generally been good and many still consider him to be the best centre-back at the club. He’s always been popular with his team-mates and a bubbly character within the group who offers plenty of support for his colleagues, which makes his all-too-frequent absences even more galling.
Those aforementioned reasons are set to ensure that – regardless of what division the club are in – Mina is not offered a new deal at Everton and he’ll be plying his trade elsewhere next season. However, this could be quite the parting gift to Blues.
Absent friends
While Mina will be looking to end his Everton career on a high against Bournemouth next weekend, the Blues will be sweating on the fitness of both Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Nathan Patterson for the showdown to save their Premier League status.
Fitness issues have blighted the season for the pair with striker being sidelined with what Frank Lampard described as a “freak injury” on the eve of the campaign that kept him out until October and then after playing the first hour of Sean Dyche’s inaugural fixture on February 1 – a 1-0 win over Arsenal – he did not return for almost three months until the trip to Crystal Palace on April 22. Although Calvert-Lewin’s only goal in his half dozen outings since has come from the penalty spot at Leicester City, his presence has transformed Everton’s attack and Dyche now faces the unwelcome prospect of having to prepare for a make or break fixture without his leading striker.
It’s been a similar tale for Patterson, who started the campaign as first choice but was absent for almost three months between January and April and saw Seamus Coleman, Mason Holgate and Ben Godfrey all picked before he was restored to the side. Given that he’s still just 21, the latest injury scare is concerning for one of the club’s brightest prospects.
If either or both are unable to face the Cherries then the Blues will find it difficult to replace them – no like-for-like alternatives were used at Molineux – with Dyche choosing not to bring in the most natural-looking replacements at his disposal in the shape of Ellis Simms or Mason Holgate (who came on later on). Somehow Everton’s square pegs in round holes managed to hammer home an equaliser though and they may need more of the same next week to keep their heads above water.
Thrown to the Wolves
When Everton’s numerous head-to-head deficiencies have been thrown at him, Sean Dyche has always shrugged and insisted that “stats come back your way” but if you can’t always be a good manager, then at least be a lucky one.
Mina’s last-gasp leveller ensured that Dyche has just one defeat in 12 matches against Wolverhampton Wanderers with five wins and six draws to his name. The Blues boss credited the securing of a share of the spoils as being down to the spirit in the camp and a general upturn in curing the club’s long-standing travel sickness.
In many ways it’s been baby steps – with the 5-1 demolition of Brighton & Hove Albion remaining their solitary success on the road since their 2-1 comeback victory at bottom club Southampton on October 1 – but given the hard-earned points at Nottingham Forest, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Leicester City and now here, there is an increased resoluteness. Such character could be crucial for Everton as they approach the final hurdle back at Goodison Park.
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