Everton cannot avoid glaring Iliman Ndiaye truth as pre-season concerns mount

The Everton verdict from Joe Thomas as the Blues were beaten 1-0 by Stoke City at the Bet365 Stadium

Iliman Ndiaye has not been prolific for Everton but without him the side is significantly worse off.

That much has been clear across three pre-season friendlies in which the Blues have struggled to create from open play. At Dundee, the four goals came from a deflected shot and three goalkeeper errors. This narrow defeat at Stoke City made it 180 minutes without a goal against Championship opposition.

Some senior players are missing and others are growing in strength after injury. Jarrad Branthwaite made a step forward at Bolton Wanderers and Hayden Hackney played his first 45 minutes in Royal Blue at the Bet365.

The injured James Garner and Jordan Pickford, on his break after his World Cup duties, further improve this team. But Ndiaye is currently the biggest miss.

The value of the Senegal international has been inescapable across the friendlies so far. Everton have not been without positive signs. Beyond the growing strength of Branthwaite and Hackney, Thierno Barry has looked hungry and Tyrique George impressed on Tuesday night, beating defenders with ease and posing questions in the final third.

Yet the drop in quality without Ndiaye is obvious and makes the uncertainty over his future even more poignant as the new season approaches.

Al-Hilal had yet to make formal contact with Everton over the 26-year-old when this match kicked-off but his future as a Blue is in clear doubt. For Everton chief executive Angus Kinnear, watching with other senior Finch Farm figures in the Midlands, his departure would represent a risk. The riches involved could fund the work required to help David Moyes for the upcoming season. There are plenty of places that need addressing.

But Everton would have to be confident they could not only successfully replace Ndiaye, but add further attacking talent to build on it.

Everton are only halfway through their pre-season schedule and results do not matter at this stage. There is only so much that can be read into these performances, too.

It will still be of concern that, apart from George, Everton’s best players at Stoke were their two goalkeepers – Mark Travers and Tom King made five good saves between them.

Still, Travers could not deny Gabriel Kelly’s well-placed second half effort, the difference in this game. Jake O’Brien headed against the bar late on and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall had a chance well-blocked after good work from Tyler Dibling. But, in truth, Stoke were closer to providing the second goal of the match with Robert Bozenik and Milan Smit coming close.

In contrast, the first half ended to cries of “f***ing useless” from the home fans after Beto lost his balance – and then the ball – to bring to an end a promising counter attack. Seconds earlier, Million Manhoef had nutmegged Vitalii Mykolenko – both Everton full-backs succumbed to that trick in the first half – and pulled the ball back to Tomas Rigo, whose effort was tipped onto the bar by Travers.

When the resulting corner was cleared it was picked up by Dewsbury-Hall, who carried the ball to halfway and slipped it into the onrushing George. George twisted and turned before sending a well-timed pass for Beto to run onto. The forward, who has repeatedly checked back in such positions during pre-season, did so again, lost his footing and then passed to a red and white shirt, to the joy of the home end.

It summed up a half of frustration for Everton.

George, for whom every game is an audition as speculation over the future of Ndiaye continues, was lively throughout the opening 45 minutes and beat right back Ben Wilmot with ease as he drove forward down the left, shooting from distance, cutting inside to send Merlin Rohl down the right and having a dangerous cross headed clear by Svante Ingelsson.

The lack of a quality end product was a theme of the half though, with Rohl providing more threat down the right than the returning Dibling.

Instead, it was Travers who was the busier of the goalkeepers, pushing wide from Million Manhoef’s testing shot after saving well with his legs when Sam Gallagher turned past James Tarkowski to carry a clever Tatsuki Seko pass in on goal.

There was one positive from the first half – the first appearance of summer signing Hackney. He was eager for the ball, hustled midfielders and drove forward with his passing and with the ball at his feet. But Everton need more.

FOLLOW OUR EVERTON FC FACEBOOK PAGE! Latest EFC news and analysis from via the Liverpool Echo’s dedicated FB page