There was a moment in Everton’s recent 1-1 draw at Wolverhampton Wanderers that crystallised Carlos Alcaraz’s promise.
Seizing the ball inside his own half, the Argentine midfielder evaded a desperate lunge before surging forward and feeding Beto for a late chance that the striker could not convert.
For over an hour at Molineux, Everton’s attack had been clunky. They had lacked the execution to capitalise on the space that was readily available and toiled against a physical Wolves back line.
Not for the first time, Alcaraz’s arrival on 63 minutes added a spark to their attacking play. The 22-year-old has one goal and one assist for Everton, both of which came in the 2-1 win against Crystal Palace in February.
These are interesting times at Goodison Park. Manager David Moyes is approaching two months in post, and supporters are still waiting for clues as to what will follow once Premier League survival is secured.
The Scot has made it clear that, for now, his tactical approach will be geared towards doing what it takes to stay in the league. Broader questions of style and identity can wait.
Moyes is old school in a sense, seeing the 40-point mark as a reliable guarantee of safety.
That is the prism through which nearly all of his selections, including the regularly debated ones, must be seen. Yet with Everton 16 points clear of the bottom three and heading into a summer rebuild, the chance may soon come to experiment and take the shackles off. No more so than in the role behind the lone striker.
Until Alcaraz’s arrival on loan from Flamengo early last month, the squad was severely lacking in conventional No 10s.
Iliman Ndiaye was bought from Marseille last summer as a potential option behind the striker, but has spent most of his time under Moyes and former manager Sean Dyche playing as a winger. Dwight McNeil also had a stint under Dyche in the No 10 role before returning to his usual spot on the flank.
Everton have been trying and largely failing to move away from the long-time incumbent in that role, Abdoulaye Doucoure. Whenever they appear to be heading in a different direction, they revert to what has become a tactical comfort blanket.
By his own admission, Doucoure is not a natural attacking midfielder. He sees himself as a box-to-box player who has the energy to contribute at both ends of the pitch. Yet Everton are still to find a viable alternative to the 32-year-old.
The statistical case for Doucoure had been strong.
Across the 2022-23 and 2023-24 campaigns, Everton won just three of the 27 league matches in which he did not start, picking up a meagre 18 points. The last time Everton had won a league game in which Doucoure did not start was October 2022 — until last month’s 2-1 victory at Crystal Palace.
It may soon be time to head in a new direction.
First, there is the matter of his contractual situation. As exclusively revealed by The Athletic last week, his deal expires at the end of the season and the club option for a one-year extension has already passed.
Everton would still be free to negotiate a deal with Doucoure on different terms but the dynamic has shifted. Other clubs, particularly in Saudi Arabia, where there is pre-existing interest, can offer a contract in an open market.
Doucoure is also likely to want a longer deal, even if that means a reduction in wages. Had Everton taken up the option, that avenue would have been closed off. While all options are still on the table, the chances of a departure appear to have risen in recent weeks.
The other issue for Everton to consider is their lack of goals and creativity. While Moyes has made inroads since taking over, they remain 17th for goals scored and 17th for expected goals (xG), which measures the quality of chances created.
In many ways, the No 10 position has become a bellwether tactically for Everton in recent seasons. In Doucoure, they have found a reliable presence, a willing runner, and someone who can help them eke out results at a time of crisis.
Doucoure may lack finesse but regularly covers around 12 kilometres per game, usually the highest in the team. He is also key to the side’s pressing, with the fifth-most high regains in the league (defined as winning back the ball in the attacking third) with 20. The next best at Everton, McNeil and Ndiaye, have 13 each.
His work rate and tactical understanding have made him important to successive managers.
If Everton are to progress up the table, then they need to find different avenues to attack.
Doucoure has scored twice this season and registered one assist. Only McNeil and 39-year-old full-back Ashley Young have set up more than two goals this campaign, a damning indictment of Everton’s lack of creativity. Doucoure’s expected assists total (xA) is just 0.88 for the season, with centre-back James Tarkowski (1.96) second in the squad for that same metric (which measures the likelihood that a pass will become an assist).
There is still a clear reliance on McNeil to create. Despite the fact he has been injured since December, he still leads the charts in a number of key areas.
The Athletic’s Mark Carey recently introduced the ‘talisman tax’, which looks at the number of times a player had the last action within their team’s sequence of possession.
“This will include goals but will also include things like failed passes, failed take-ons, or wayward shots, essentially any occasion that a player looks to make something happen in the attacking zones of the pitch,” he wrote.
“Looking at this as a share of the team’s total when the player was on the field gives us our talisman tax — often those who make or receive those trickier progressive passes that move their team upfield, or those that cap off an attacking sequence with a shot on goal.”
McNeil still leads the team in this metric, with Doucoure ranking eighth, behind full-backs Young and Vitalii Mykolenko.
The below graphic shows Doucoure is also less involved in attacking sequences, certainly the build-up and final phases, than most of his attacking team-mates.
Moyes is likely to spend the summer focusing on improving the squad’s attacking output. A new attacking midfielder is almost certain to be on his list, regardless of Doucoure’s future.
How Alcaraz fits into the picture remains uncertain. He has impressed in his cameos so far, including against Wolves, but is yet to force his way into the side. There is a sense Moyes and Everton are looking to get over the line with the tried and tested.
Alcaraz’s loan contains an obligation to make the move permanent for a fee of €15million (£12.5m; $16.2m) should he make nine league starts before the end of the campaign. With 10 matches left, he still has seven to go.
As Everton close in on safety, the rest of the season should be an opportunity for Moyes to work out if he wants Alcaraz to be part of the future. The early glimpses show a player with real potential in the attacking third, capable of thriving in transition and striking well at goal.
These are elements Everton need if they are to more regularly threaten opponents. But that cannot come at the expense of defensive balance and first he must force his way into the team.
“It’s a tough decision (between Doucoure or Alcaraz), but I’m pleased to (have) it,” Moyes told the Everton channel on Saturday. “Charly (Alcaraz) did a great run and a great pass for Beto (against Wolves). He’s done really well.
“Doucs has played well. He played well against Manchester United and got a goal. He’s been steady, knows the club, knows what’s expected. We’re putting Charly in when we think the times are right.”
Finding the right formula while the side is near the bottom is not easy. But the next few months should offer Moyes an opportunity to work out where, if at all, Doucoure and Alcaraz fit into the picture at Everton before a summer of change.
(Top photos: Getty Images)
