Sean Dyche suggests he’d like to keep Abdoulaye Doucoure after Nottingham Forest links

Add as preferred source on Google

Everton boss Sean Dyche has suggested that he’d quite like to keep Abdoulaye Doucoure despite interest from Nottingham Forest. The French midfielder was linked with a move to the City Ground during the January transfer window.

There haven’t exactly been many players who haven’t been linked with a move to Forest since they won promotion. Doucoure was one of a number of midfielders to be mentioned with a move to the City Ground during another hectic transfer window.

Doucoure signed for Everton from Watford in 2020. He#s made 84 appearances for the Toffees during his time at Goodison Park but it was claimed that he had a falling out with Frank Lampard that saw his future at the club questioned.

Things could be different under Dyche though. He’s suggested that he fancies the player to do a job for the club and believes he can be a big player for the Toffees going forward.

The new Everton boss told the Liverpool Echo: “He’s certainly someone that could help the club going forwards. I think he has done very well. Different managers see different things, and different managers want different things. This is no question of any other manager at all but I have always liked him as a player.

“I think he has played very well other than the first 15 minutes the other day, when I didn’t think we were particularly at it, he was excellent after that. He keeps working in both boxes, driving with his running that’s for sure. The signs are good.”

Doucoure has earned a new lease of life under Dyche. He’s played 90 minutes in all four of the manager’s games in charge of Everton since he arrived last month.

Dyche could keep Doucoure after Nottingham Forest links

It has to be said that perhaps Forest won’t be going for Doucoure in the summer anyway. He might have been viewed as a short-term fix for the 2022/23 campaign and perhaps now their focus will lie elsewhere.

The midfielder is 30 now and isn’t getting any younger. Forest have a number of options in their current squad that are capable of performing the same role that Doucoure can.

It seems likely that if Forest stay up they will be targeting a different kind of player. Younger options will likely be sought and perhaps the £120,000-a-week player won’t be on the radar.