What The Papers Say - 10 December

The views on this page are taken from the local and national media and do not necessarily reflect the views of Everton.

The Liverpool ECHO focuses on Iliman Ndiaye after the Senegal international’s impressive display against Nottingham Forest last time out at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

The attacking midfielder picked up an assist during the win against Forest, setting up Thierno Barry for his first goal in royal blue as Everton secured a dominant victory against Sean Dyche’s side.

“Before the game, Ili said, ‘Yes, today I'll try to help you to score’,” Barry revealed post-match.

The forward was not the only person to praise Ndiaye, with boss David Moyes keen to show his appreciation for his output.

“I’ve got to say, the way Ili took it and laid it on a plate for him,” he said in his post-match press conference. “Ndiaye’s ability to roll it softly so he could come onto it first time and lay it straight past the goalkeeper was great.

“It gave [Barry] no control issue, no thoughts that he had to do something different. Ili made his mind up and set it up for him. So great credit to Ili for getting Thierno the goal.”

The win was the Toffees’ fourth from their past five games, a run that has seen them keep a clean sheet in all four of those victories.

Elsewhere, Liverpool World focuses on the Blues’ upcoming clash with Chelsea, providing early team news from Everton’s camp.

Gavin Kelly writes: “Moyes already saw the return of Michael Keane to the defence but will have two more names to add. Idrissa Gana Gueye will play his last game before joining up with Senegal for the African Cup of Nations and Tim Iroegbunam’s one game suspension has also been served after picking up five yellow cards for the season.”

He continues: “With a packed fixture list ahead of Everton, having players back and as big a squad as possible is key to continuing to compete at the top end of the league. What he won’t want is for James Garner to pick up his fifth booking of the season and miss the equally as difficult task of facing Arsenal after playing in every league game so far.

“One player who will be pivotal to Everton’s hopes is Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall with the 27-year old getting to showcase his talents at the heart of a team with aspirations of competing for trophies. With four goals and three assists, the playmaker is providing the numbers to go with his performances and has been one of the league’s most consistent players so far.”