Moyes must finally drop Harrison & unleash Everton’s “magic” talent

Everton meet Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon, looking to bounce back from defeat after falling against Manchester City on Merseyside last weekend.

It bears testament to the job David Moyes has done since taking over in January that the loss against the champions was only Everton’s second across 13 Premier League matches since being on the wrong side of a one-goal affair with Aston Villa in his first match (back) in the dugout, also losing to Liverpool at Anfield this month.

Everton are stronger, more unified, more confident in their passing and ability to break down opponents. There’s still plenty of work to be done, but relegation looks a distant threat at this stage, and the 13th-place Toffees have the chance to finish above the likes of Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.

Chelsea aren’t in the finest form, but do pose a significant threat. Let’s have a look at how Everton are doing on the injury front as they prepare for the clash in west London.

The latest Everton team news

Everton are set to be without James Tarkowski for the first time in the Premier League since the centre-back joined the club on a free transfer in 2022, after his contract with Burnley expired. The 32-year-old was forced off with a hamstring injury against City last weekend.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin is still sidelined, and Armando Broja is ineligible to play against his parent club, so Beto will be set to return to the starting line-up and break his seven-game duck in front of goal.

That’s not the only attacking shake-up that might need to be called into play, with an eased injury front allowing for potential rotation on the wide flanks.

Jack Harrison’s been something of a divisive figure on Merseyside this term, industrious as ever but lacking any kind of conviction in and around the final third.

Moyes must drop Jack Harrison

Everton haven’t won a top-flight match at Stamford Bridge since December 1994, Paul Rideout (there’s a throwback) scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win.

Chelsea have been well out of sorts in recent months and are there for the taking, as much as they ever have been. In order to achieve this feat, though, Moyes may want to drop Harrison and replace him with Dwight McNeil.

Not directly. Harrison would move to the bench, and Iliman Ndiaye would shift over to the right flank, accommodating McNeil as he makes his first start after returning from a four-month layoff, Abdoulaye Doucoure then reprising his place in the middle.

Ndiaye has been Everton’s standout player this season, scoring nine goals across 32 matches, and while he’s principally found on the left, Moyes did field him on the alternate wing during his opening match, that loss against Villa.

By doing so, not only will the Blues spark more attacking quality and pace down that flank, something that has been decidedly lacking for much of Harrison’s individual campaign, but it will allow McNeil to move back into a starting berth, hopefully picking up his giddy early-season form.

The playmaker posted three goals and three assists apiece across eight Premier League outings at the start of the term, very much a bright spark during a dreary period in the early knockings.

His return has the potential to restore something that has been lacking. As per FBref, McNeil ranks among the top 10% of positional peers in England’s top flight this season for shot-creating actions per 90, emphasising the fluency that could be knitted back into the team.

Maybe his comeback could even play into Beto’s strengths as the Bissau Guinean striker drives forward with powerful strides, searching for that Midas touch in front of goal, which has gone into hiding in recent fixtures.

Moreover, the 25-year-old has been acknowledged for his “magic” qualities by reporter Joe Thomas, whereas many Everton fans would consider Harrison, who’s been starting regularly in his absence, as a more bog-standard attacking player, in regard to his efforts this season, in any case.

Across 29 matches in the Premier League this year, Leeds United’s Harrison, who is in the second year of a two-term loan spell at Goodison Park, has only notched one goal and one assist apiece.

Admittedly, both of those direct involvements have come since Moyes has taken to the helm, but Harrison certainly lacks that special something, that ‘magic’ quality, that could have given rise to more profitable numbers.

As per Sofascore, he’s missed four big chances while only completing 35% of his attempted dribbles, of which he is averaging less than one per game.

Everton writer Ell Bretland left his opinion on the table in no uncertain terms, commenting that Harrison’s “decision-making has been abysmal,” going on to question why ex-chairman Farhad Moshiri made the decision with Dyche and Kevin Thelwell to renew the winger’s loan contract for a second year.

The synergy that an attacking line of McNeil, Doucoure, and Ndiaye could project, all supporting Beto, is something that Moyes will no doubt have considered in the overtures of this important fixture against Chelsea.

McNeil has only made two substitute appearances since leaving the infirmary, but he managed to find his Malian teammate in the dying embers at the City Ground earlier this month to upset Nottingham Forest and score a stunning snatched victory.

It’s time for Moyes to start preparing for the season ahead, and that doesn’t just mean by drawing up plans on the transfer front. McNeil and Ndiaye will be expected to play big roles next year, and unleashing them together in the capital could tie their tactical togetherness closer.

Harrison, conversely, should be back at Elland Road, and should find himself starting from the bench.