Everton escaped relegation on the last day of the English Premier League 2022-23 campaign. Sean Dyche was the mastermind behind helping the Merseyside club remain in the English top division. The fans were waiting for a perfect start in the 2023-24 campaign, but things are not favouring the Toffees.
Sean Dyche’s men are at the bottom of the league table after three games and have yet to score their first campaign goal. An injury to striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin added more worry to the camp. Everton decided to sign a forward and brought in Portuguese striker Beto from Udinese. Can this striker prove to be the game-changer at Goodison Park?
What does Everton need?
Everton averaged less than one goal per match in the 2022-23 campaign. This was one of the reasons why they escaped relegation on the last day. They face the same issue in the current season.
Beto has been brought in to score regular goals. Last season, he scored 10 goals in 33 Serie A games. The 25-year-old found the back of the net from inside the opposition penalty box. He attempted 2.2 shots per 90 minutes and had a 39.7% accuracy rate. His xG per shot is decent at 0.16.
Scoring goals is not the only thing that the Toffees will expect from their most expensive signing of the summer. The manager and the fans will demand more. Beto created two goals for his teammates in the 2022-23 campaign.
The above viz shows the shot assists created by the striker in the league. Overall, he created 20 chances, and one pass was converted by a teammate. The viz clearly shows that Beto is aware of his teammates’ positioning and has often provided short passes to create scoring opportunities.
Another area where Beto excelled last season was in recovering the ball in the attacking half. Strikers who have a high work rate are known for recovering the ball. The 25-year-old averaged 2.46 recoveries per 90 minutes, and 64.6% of them were made in the attacking half. These included nine dangerous recoveries and 20 counter-pressing recoveries.
Perfect replacement for injured Calvert-Lewin?
Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s absence will hurt the Toffees as he is an experienced campaigner and fits well in Sean Dyche’s plans. Injuries in the 2022-23 season restricted his game time to just 17 matches. The Englishman scored two goals and created one for his teammate.
The above viz compares the percentile rank of these two players. These stats are from the last season. It can be observed that Calvert-Lewin is strong in the air. Beto edged him in every other department and is involved more in the match.
Beto scored his first goal for the club in the Carabao Cup comeback win. He will look to make his league debut in the coming weekend.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine
