Everton’s 2023 has been a tale of two halves with several players thriving under Sean Dyche, here’s the three best.
With 2023 drawing to a close, it’s the perfect time to reflect on what was an excellent second half of the year for Everton.
The first-half saw the club battle against relegation – but since September, Everton have been a top-half team on form.
Everton has had several players thrive under Sean Dyche and in the past month has seen results go to another level as Dyche really inflicts his style on the team.
So here’s our three best Everton players of 2023…
One man who’s always been bound to thrive at Everton under Dyche is James Tarkowski. If the Everton boss could build a footballer in a lab – he’d build Tarkowski. The two worked together at Burnley and now at Goodison Park he is among Dyche’s key men.
Tarkowski wasn’t just performing this season amid the club doing well either and even impressed last campaign as Everton avoided relegation on the final day. He led the league for blocks last season and no player played more minutes than him, as he was the only outfield player to play every minute of the season – a trend which has continued this season.
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He was brilliant against Liverpool in the Merseyside Derby back in October – twice making goal-saving blocks. After this game, Tarkowski was lauded by Jim Beglin for ‘bailing out’ his teammate.
With a Sofascore rating of 7.28 across this campaign, the defender has been immense – having a huge impact on those around him including Jarrad Branthwaite. The duo have led The Toffees to six clean sheets in this campaign.
Individually, Tarkowski has also been top-class as his campaign stats in the 2023-24 season showcase. He’s on average made 11.9 defence actions per game which demonstrates how good he’s been. Along with these, he’s excelled on the ball completing 86% of his dribble attempts.
With this season being where Everton’s best performers are found given the difference in quality levels compared to last season – Tarkowski deserves his place on this list as he’s been key.
Amadou Onana
Despite his blunder in the League Cup shootout – Amadou Onana is almost always impeccable for Everton in midfield. His performances for Everton in early 2023 were sublime, leaving Dyche’s side with a tough task to keep him last summer as rumours swirled.
Back in February, Onana was labelled absolutely ‘superb’ and the ‘best player on the pitch’ as Everton beat Arsenal who were in the midst of a title race. That sentiment has remained throughout the rest of the year as he continues to gain recognition from outside Everton.
His continued impressive performances have now attracted intrigue from Barcelona and Manchester United among others ahead of a potential move in January. But for now – he’s comfortably in Everton’s three-best of 2023.
Everton’s star player on many an occasion – he dominated Burnley not long ago in a top display as Everton won 2-0. His performances have been so good that his teammate Arnaut Danjuma has admitted it’s an honour to play alongside a player like Onana.
This season with a rating of 7.19 on SofaScore, he’s in the top five for The Toffees however he is far more important in reality. He’s been Everton’s standout player this season as stats have shown – as he ranks first place in multiple different areas for the Toffees.
Jordan Pickford
Rounding out the three for Everton is goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, who was pivotal in the early parts of the year in keeping Everton in the Premier League. In the 2022/23 season, he recorded the Premier League’s third most saves while also boasting a 71.3% save percentage.
In April of last season – Tarkowski was full of praise for Pickford after a loss to Manchester United. He labelled Pickford as an ‘outstanding goalkeeper’ and one who can keep Everton in games at times. Something we’ve witnessed the former Sunderland man do multiple times.
In November 2023 – Pickford was lauded as ‘one of the best goalkeepers in the world’ by Asmir Begovic. This is as he impressed early in the 23/24 campaign for Everton. Earlier in December he was lauded once more, this time by Courtney Sweetman-Kirk for an ‘excellent’ display against Chelsea.
It’s recently that Pickford has really begun to catch the eye of neutrals with his displays. In his past five league games – the £30m man has four clean sheets which are a huge part of Everton’s recent form as the defensive record ultimately is stealing the plaudits.
He’s been so good for Dyche and is definitely among the most important players in the team – a deserved name on this list and a player who could be set for an even better 2024.
