Premier League review 2018/19: Silva comes through bruising Everton season

Marco Silva struggled to shrug off comparisons of Everton under Sam Allardyce during the first six months of his spell at Goodison Park but has come through that period and Everton are in the right shape to enjoy a good season in 2019/20.

Everton finished the campaign with five more points than they did under Allardyce last term, but more importantly the football has improved leaps and bounds. The Toffees scored more goals this season (+10) and conceded fewer goals (-12) than they did in Allardyce’s final season.

Not only have Everton improved on the pitch, but Silva’s presence makes Everton a more appealing club to players. Can you imagine Sam Allardyce having the same pulling power as Silva and signing three players from Barcelona in one summer?

Top rated player – Lucas Digne (7.36)

Lucas Digne was one of three arrivals from Barcelona and certainly the best of the lot. Yerry Mina struggled to stay fit, while Andre Gomes only showed flashes of his potential without ever really hitting the heights expected.

Digne, however, was immense in his maiden campaign and quickly usurped club mainstay Leighton Baines in the pecking order at left-back. The 25-year-old also finished the campaign as the left-back in the WhoScored Team of the Season in the Premier League.

Digne played a direct hand in eight goals (four goals, four assists), with each of his four goals coming from outside the box. In fact, only Christian Eriksen (six) scored more long range efforts than Digne in the Premier League this season.

Biggest Disappointment – Yerry Mina

After a barnstorming 2018 World Cup campaign, Yerry Mina’s arrival at Everton was met with huge excitement. Signed from Barcelona for just shy of £30m, Mina was supposed to form a formidable partnership with Kurt Zouma or Michael Keane.

Unfortunately for Marco Silva, however, the Colombia international failed to stay fit for prolonged periods and finished the campaign with just 13 Premier League appearances to his name. Even when he was fit, there was no reason for Silva to break up Zouma and Keane, who were performing well together.

Everton’s hopes of re-signing Zouma hinge on whether Chelsea will be able to recruit players this summer and that could work in Mina’s favour. Without Zouma at the club, Mina will almost certainly have the chance to properly kickstart his Everton career next season.

Surprise Package – Dominic Calvert-Lewin

Even with big money signing Cenk Tosun at the club, Dominic Calvert-Lewin finished the season as Everton’s first-choice striker. The versatile 22-year-old made 35 league appearances for the Toffees, though only 19 of those were starts.

Calvert-Lewin returned six goals and two assists in that time and Everton looked much better with his energy and work rate spearheading their attack than with Tosun.

Despite his slender frame, Calvert-Lewin is surprisingly very effective in the air. In fact, only Michael Keane (5.8) won more aerial duels per game than Calvert-Lewin (3.2) of all Everton players in the Premier League last season.

While there was a lot of promise about Calvert-Lewin’s displays, it would still be a huge surprise if Silva didn’t try and strengthen in that area this summer. Nevertheless, he proved this season that he can be a more than useful option up front.

Where to Improve – Central Midfield

Everton could feasibly start next season with a completely different midfield to their first-choice pairing from this season. The Merseysiders only had Andre Gomes on loan from Barcelona and now Tottenham are reportedly keen on the Portugal international, while Manchester United have earmarked Idrissa Gueye as a replacement for Ander Herrera. 

The uncertainty around his midfield will be cause for concern for Silva and it will be tough for Everton to find adequate replacements for both. In the last three Premier League campaigns, Gueye has made more tackles and interceptions combined than any other player – 88 more than N’Golo Kante. Elite ball winners are hard to come by and finding a replacement for Gueye within Everton’s budget will prove no easy task.

League Position: 8th

Grade: C