Everton line-ups for Hamburg as Adam Aznou comes in after ’embarrassing’ Stoke moment
Everton line-ups for Hamburg as Adam Aznou comes in after ’embarrassing’ Stoke moment
Everton are in Germany to take on Hamburg in a pre-season clash on Saturday, and here’s who our writers would pick to play
Pre-season has been a mixed bag for Everton so far, with the Blues experiencing a win, a draw and a defeat as they have travelled around the British Isles.
After a couple of trips to Championship sides, Everton step things up in pre-season with back-to-back trips to Bundesliga outfits and the Blues know that their sharpness now needs to improve.
Either side of their Germany training camp, David Moyes’ men go to Hamburg and Stuttgart and having drawn a blank at both Bolton and Stoke City, much more is needed going forward. Neither Beto or Thierno Barry had a shot on target between them in Tuesday night’s defeat at the bet365 Stadium but given that the Guinea-Bissau international started then, I’d give a turn to the Frenchman this time around.
One big change I would make would be at left-back after Vitalii Mykolenko struggled in the Potteries and was on the receiving end of an embarrassing nutmeg in the build-up to a Stoke chance. Understudy Adam Aznou knows German football having signed for Everton from Bayern Munich last summer so after a decent cameo off the bench against Mark Robins’ side where he looked to offer more going forwards than the Ukraine international, I’d give him a go here.
On the other side of defence it would be nice to have an actual right-back to choose but alas the long wait goes on so back in his home country, Merlin Rohl continues to get the gig. The other change I would make would be to give Jake O’Brien a go in his favoured centre-back role with Michael Keane making way despite being arguably the Blues’ best defender last time out, a decision made because James Tarkowski is skipper, although it will be interesting to see when Everton announce who their new club captain is following the long-serving Seamus Coleman’s departure.
After back-to-back tests against Sky Bet Championship clubs, this afternoon’s game is undoubtedly a step up for the Blues.
One player I would like to see return is Jarrad Branthwaite. While it is understandable that the Blues are managing the defender’s workload, it would be good to see him given as much gametime as possible this pre-season.
Like Chris, I would also like to see Adam Aznou given the nod at left-back. We all know what Vitalii Mykolenko can offer, but now it is time to see what Aznou can offer the Blues, and we won’t see what he can do unless he plays.
If Branthwaite doesn’t feature, it is hard not to imagine the Blues lining up with Jake O’Brien at right-back and James Tarkowski and Michael Keane at the heart of the defence.
