Abdoulaye Doucoure’s Everton impact and future as contract nears expiration this summer

National World - LocalTV

Abdoulaye Doucoure’s influence at Everton has been vital this season, providing energy and leadership in midfield. With his contract set to expire this summer, his future remains uncertain, as the club navigates it’s fight  to gain a higher place in the Premier League. Doucoure’s performances could be key in determining whether he secures a new deal or moves on to pastures new.

Transcript

00:00Abdoulaye Décoré has become a vital player for Everton, delivering crucial performances

00:08and scoring important goals. His energy and reliability in midfield have earned him a

00:13strong bit of support from fans who appreciate his influence on the team. With his contract

00:20situation uncertain, I spoke with Will Rooney of Liverpool World about Décoré's growing

00:25impact and what lies ahead for him at the club.

00:55Décoré's legacy is left at Everton. He's scored some really important goals as well,

00:59especially in their relegation races, to avoid the drop. What do you make of Décoré's

01:07time at Everton before we go into a bit about his future?

01:12I think it's been a little bit mixed. He came in from Watford. He was obviously a really

01:18highly regarded player at Watford. Wasn't he a real engine in that team? Carlo Ancelotti

01:23signed him, maybe. He played a little bit deeper. Started really well under Rafa Benítez.

01:31Fell well out of favour under Frank Lampard. He admitted that he probably would have left

01:35if Frank Lampard hadn't been sacked beforehand. As you say, rejuvenated under Deitch. Scored

01:41that goal against Bournemouth that kept Everton up. Scored some really important goals. Towards

01:47the end of Sean Deitch's tenure, it started going a little bit stale for me and Décoré.

01:53I think fans were getting frustrated with him. But David Moyes comes in and yet again,

01:58he seems rejuvenated. He's scored two goals since Moyes' arrival. It was really telling

02:05that Moyes opted to start after his suspension at Crystal Palace. He came back into the team

02:13and started against Man Utd. He justified that because he got a goal and an assist and

02:20he missed the one-monther against Brentford last time out because his wife was given birth.

02:26So that's understandable. But you would think he's going to be a real mainstay for the

02:32remainder of the season. I don't think anyone will ever look back after Décoré and think,

02:38what a player he was. He's not going to be your Tim Kales or your Michel Arteta in recent times.

02:44Hannes Rodriguez is one of the really blown supporters away. But he'll always be appreciated

02:50for what he's done in Everton in difficult circumstances. He's obviously one of the

02:56players who is out of contract. In the summer, Sean Deitch has mentioned so many players are

03:02out of contract. They need to really nitpick and navigate their way through the amount of

03:07players out of contract. In terms of him and his future, where do you see it going?

03:12You've mentioned there that Moyes seems to like him, give him that sort of platform to rejuvenate

03:17and play amongst the midfielders. Do you see him being an Everton player past? Obviously,

03:23he's 32, 33 now as well. What do you see from his Everton future?

03:29It's a decision for the club to make because the club have got an option, whether they extend

03:33this deal. But that would likely be on the same terms he's on. I think that he is one of Everton's

03:44higher earners. Now, Everton need to look at that and think, can we get a player maybe that's better

03:51than our player for the same wages or maybe lower, potentially? They have to look at it like that.

03:57Can they maybe come to an agreement and think, well, we can't pay this for an extra year,

04:03but we want to give you a two-year deal, more security, but you'll be on less money.

04:09Maybe Everton can start planning for his future as well and look to bring other players in

04:14around his position. Obviously, they brought in Charlie Alcazar from Flamengo in January,

04:19and that deal could become permanent. It's versatile in terms of the centre midfield

04:24position. But do Everton start looking towards the future because he is 32 now?

04:30And to say, does Moyes look or anything? Maybe we could get better, maybe we start moving on,

04:36but you don't want to move too many players on. So,

04:39it's definitely a little bit of a dilemma for Everton heading into the summer.

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