His transfer from recently-relegated Aston Villa to apparently ambitious Everton was met with pondering rumination from all corners. In a team regarded as one of the worst in the Premier League era, Idrissa Gueye was largely overlooked. Perhaps, in hindsight, that nobody seemed to notice the Senegalese international was a good thing.
Villa were in turmoil. The players’ pitch-side arguments with fans, their unprofessional social media activity and their general in-game incompetence overshadowed any individual promise on the pitch. When Everton duly completed the £7.1m signing of Gueye, a look at his stats sparked comparisons to a Premier League winner of similar style.
Idrissa Gueye and N’Golo Kanté’s similarities
N’Golo Kanté joined Leicester for a modest fee of £5.6m in the summer of 2015. A relatively unknown figure outside of Caen, he quickly became Leicester’s main man. His work-rate and mobility epitomised the way Claudio Ranieri wanted his team to work. Shinji Okazaki, Jamie Vardy and Danny Drinkwater joined Kanté in covering every blade of grass through the team’s spine.
The Frenchman was winning more tackles than anyone else in the league; more interceptions too. And the plaudits followed. Kanté was lauded as one of the best players in the league.
Second to Kanté in tackles won and interceptions made was a player at the opposite end of the league. While the Leicester man picked up a Premier League winners’ medal at the season’s end, Idrissa Gueye was dropping into the second tier of English Football.
As collectives, Leicester City and Aston Villa were worlds apart. But individually, as per the statistics, Idrissa Gueye and N’Golo Kanté were showing a remarkable resemblance. Gueye, in a Villa team that barely competed with the rest of the league, went unnoticed.
Both, though, got career-progressing moves this summer. Kanté to Chelsea for £32m and Gueye to Everton for just over £7m. Interestingly, they were spotted by the same man.
Steve Walsh, now Everton’s Director of Football, previously Leicester’s Head of Recruitment, has been credited with unearthing Kanté. It was revealed earlier in the year that Walsh was persistent in his urge for Ranieri to sign the Frenchman.
This summer, his first recommendation to Ronald Koeman was Gueye.
Four games in, not one foot wrong
Statistics often don’t tell the whole story. And though Walsh clearly has a talent for spotting hidden gems, nor can his word be taken as gospel.
But when Gueye put in a man of the match performance against Tottenham on the opening day, it was clear Everton had got themselves a bargain. He chased and harried all game long, shutting down the space in between the lines, preventing Spurs from creating chances. Dele Alli, in the number 10 position, was anonymous.
He also made six tackles, helping Everton to launch a number of counter attacks, and was commanding in the air. Gueye, at 5ft 7” up against Eric Dier and Victor Wanyama (both 6ft 1”), won 100% of his aerial duels.
Idrissa Gueye: Only N'Golo Kante made more tackles and interceptions combined in Europe's top 5 leagues last season than Gueye (285) #EFC
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) July 26, 2016
His form continued through the 2-1 win against West Brom, and he even put in a performance of the same level against Yeovil Town in the EFL Cup. The professionalism to maintain his attitude and work rate against lesser opposition was impressive. Even more so after Everton fans were forced to witness a consistently lethargic team last term.
More recently against Stoke, Gueye came up against Giannelli Imbula. In what’s likely to be one of the toughest midfield battles he’ll face all season, Gueye still managed to come out on top. Making another six tackles and accumulating a 91% pass accuracy (Including two key passes), Gueye was once again instrumental in turning defence into attack.
In a team that has conceded too many goals in recent years, his role is clear. He’s there to shield the defence, close down the opposition and provide the legs for Gareth Barry. It’s only four games into his Everton career, but he’s already a fan favourite. Yet, some wider recognition could be soon on its way.
The limelight awaits
While Everton fans have raved about their new midfield maestro, those outside of the Goodison bubble won’t yet have seen what the fuss is about. But they’re about to. In their next four Premier League games, three of them will be televised.
The Kanté comparisons might not end at their respective styles and statistics. Almost exactly one year ago, Kanté, a second half substitution, inspired Leicester to come from 2-0 down to beat Aston Villa 3-2. His dynamism and fight that soon became commonplace in Leicester’s XI helped turn a certain defeat into victory. It was a result that potentially set the tone for both teams’ seasons.
In a televised match on Sky Sports, Kanté not only unveiled his true ability to Foxes fans but also the rest of the country. Soon he was widely being considered as Leicester’s most important figure as they bore down on the Premier League title.
Monday night sees Everton’s first televised match in the UK, away to Sunderland. They then welcome Middlesbrough and Crystal Palace, both also televised, to Goodison Park before the month is out.
And while it’s far-fetched to even begin to contemplate Everton matching Leicester’s success of last year, individually it is not of Gueye matching Kanté. Thus far Gueye’s energy, bravery and ball-winning tendencies have been the driving force behind Everton’s fine start. No player has yet made more tackles than him (16).
Now settled in to a team which likes to take the initiative, Gueye may finally be recognised, not as one of the first-team regulars of a team in the running for the Premier League’s worst ever, but as the lynchpin of a hard-working, aggressive Everton one.
Though every player deserves to be judged individually, any further comparisons between Idrissa Gueye and N’Golo Kanté can only be taken as the biggest of compliments. If his first month in the royal blue of Everton is anything to go by, there will be plenty more of those to come.
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