Everton defender Yerry Mina has returned to Finch Farm as he looks to step up his recovery from injury.
What’s the latest?
As per Premier League injury expert Ben Dinnery via Twitter, the Colombian is back training at Finch Farm, having not featured for the Toffees since early February.
According to former Aston Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor, Everton will be “buzzing” over the return of the 27-year-old, and he suggested that Michael Keane’s place in the team could be up for grabs with Mina set to return.
Speaking to Football Insider, the 35-year-old said: “Michael Keane has been dreadful in recent months. He’s lacked the pace, and even lacked the intelligence at times.
“Mina coming back, for me, will be massive. I love him. He’s a big, physical, giant of a defender. He’s fairly quick too.”
Lampard will be buzzing
Everton have not had the best of luck with injuries this season, with their inconsistencies showing mainly in their full-back areas. The departure of Lucas Digne in the January transfer window did not help matters, although the inconsistency in tactical setup from Frank Lampard has arguably hampered the Toffees even more.
Everton have missed Mina’s presence at the back, having been a consistent feature for the Toffees over the last couple of seasons.
In terms of the criticism of Keane, his downfall actually sees him rank first for clearances per match with 3.9. Whilst this can be regarded as a positive metric for some teams, this style does not fit into the philosophy of playing out from the back that Lampard is trying to employ.
In this regard, Mina could well be suited towards the 43-year-old’s attempted style of play. His 6.5 passes under pressure per 90 rank him in the 75th percentile, which is superior to Keane’s 5.7 per 90 for this metric.
Perhaps the biggest positive surrounding Mina’s return is his ability to dispossess opponents at the back. With 1.61 tackles in the defensive third per 90, the 27-year-old’s is currently one of Europe’s best in that metric as he finds himself in the 94th percentile.
Sticking with Agbonlahor’s comparison, Keane is way off with 0.98 tackles in the defensive third per 90 – a return which places him in the 51st percentile, as per FBref.
Whilst Mina is not expected to feature in Everton’s game against West Ham this weekend, we may see him play over the next few weeks, and news of his return to Finch Farm will surely come as a huge boost to Lampard ahead of the crucial run-in between now and late May.
In other news – Everton can finally axe “sloppy” dud who has “regressed awfully” by signing £15m brute
