Everton manager Sean Dyche has been answering questions on the contrasting fortunes of his wingers Jack Harrison and Iliman Ndiaye
Everton manager Sean Dyche believes he can get more out of both his wingers Jack Harrison and Iliman Ndiaye despite their contrasting fortunes this season. Harrison squandered an inviting opportunity deep into stoppage time to inflict what would have been a 10th defeat in 13 matches in all competitions on floundering Premier League champions Manchester City on Boxing Day and the Blues’ first success at the Etihad Stadium in 14 years.
However, he fluffed his lines in a similar fashion to when he missed a couple of late sitters in the 4-0 home win over Wolverhampton Wanderers earlier in the month.
The 28-year-old has been on loan from Leeds United for the past two seasons and contributed four goals plus three assists in 2023/24 but despite being a primarily attack-minded player, he has not contributed to either category this term.
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Dyche believes that despite the lack of cutting edge so far, Harrison is close to where he needs to be. He said: “Jack has worked tirelessly. He’s a fantastic trainer and he’s good in the group and an immaculate professional.
“He does so much work and his tactical understanding is excellent. He just needs that belief to get that final moment.
“We’ve spoken to him about it, because he’s got real quality with either foot. It’s just finding that tiny little moment that’s so important of course.
“I say it’s a tiny moment, but it is such an important thing, making the right decision at the right time. But he certainly has quality to continue doing that and will search to do it even better.”
In contrast, Ndiaye’s spectacular equaliser against Manchester City was his fourth goal since making a summer switch from Olympique Marseille with the Senegal international having registered half of Everton’s strikes on their travels in 2024/25. Dyche reckons the 24-year-old can also raise his levels though.
The Blues boss said: “I still think he’s got more. I think he’s learning about the Premier League and doing a good job of it.
“We’ve had chances in recent games that we haven’t taken, but that can happen, particularly when you’re playing against what I call the superpower sides of the division. But there’s a lot of good work done by Ili, and a lot of good work done by the team at the moment.
“We need to look at continually finding those chances, not just defending well, which we have done for a number of games now, but adding to the chance count and the quality of chance. Not just the amount but the quality of chance, that’s the key.”
