Each month the team here at Top Football Tipster take a look at one of the fresh faces playing in the English Premier League. Whether they're a foreign import, or a homegrown prospect, we analyse their performances and try to predict what happens next. This week: Tom Davies, of Everton.
On the final day of last season, manager-less Everton were a club wary of the future. Despite his talent at giving cheery post-match interviews, Roberto Martinez had failed to transform the club's fortunes. Arriving in Norwich under the direction of caretaker David Unsworth, it wasn't clear what the solution to Everton's problems would be.
Against already-relegated Norwich, Unsworth turned to an academy graduate called Tom Davies. The young midfielder had played in a brief substitute appearance under Martinez—this was to be his first start for the club. Showing a mixture of verve and endeavour, Davies was named Man of the Match on the back of an impressive ninety minute performance. It generally went under reported, with the major stories of the day being Leicester's title victory and Tottenham's capitulation at Newcastle.
Farhad Moshiri's purchase of the club appeared to signal a summer of big spending, and a new force in English football. Acquiring experienced manager Ronald Koeman, it looked as if Everton would embark on a more aggressive strategy in the transfer market—and young Tom Davies might struggle to build on his excellent start. He needn't have worried.
At the tender age of eighteen years old, Davies is regularly starting matches for Everton in the Premier League. Koeman has recognised the benefits of introducing his enthusiasm and direct passing in a team that occasionally struggled for identity early in the season. No more so than in January, when Davies stepped up to help demolish title-chasers Manchester City. The young Evertonian notched a goal and an assist to put the visitors to the sword in dramatic fashion. He added a winning assist to his tally against Crystal Palace in the following match to cement his place in the newspapers.
The midfielder has made fifteen appearances for the Toffees this season, but has only added one more assist to his tally. Against the likes of Stoke and Middlesborough, Davies was unable to make the same impact he had previously. In an imbalanced match at White Hart Lane, the midfielder was left isolated—and although he was able to force Hugo Lloris into a save, appeared lightweight. It's to be expected that a young player will have ups and downs in his debut season. Tom Davies still looks much more likely to succeed than fail. Should he continue in this vein, an England call-up cannot be far away. Especially given he's now scored the joint-fastest goal of the season in a highly-visible victory over Champions Leicester.
In terms of future development, Davies looks most comfortable in the attacking midfield role. From there, he can make driving runs before laying off to a striker—one of his preferred moves. Although he is adept in the central midfield positions, it's (currently) hard to imagine he will gain the strength and passing range to hold that spot over other more established players.
Photo by Ben Sutherland
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Tom Davies is going to be an awesome player, future England regular for sure, his goal against Man City was class!!