Seamus Coleman is looking like a man reborn in the new Premier League season after a year being pushed aside for Djibril Sidibe and having to re-earn his manager’s trust under both Marco Silva and Carlo Ancelotti.
Coleman endured a challenging 2019/20 season as he lost the number one spot at right-back after a costly sending off at Burnley gifted Silva the chance to usher in AS Monaco loanee Sidibe.
The Frenchman arrived at Goodison Park in the summer of 2019 to add depth at full-back in Silva’s plans after sanctioning a one-year loan for Jonjoe Kenny to join FC Schalke 04, but always intended to push Coleman for the starting gig.
Opportunities were scarce at first as a lack of pre-season left Sidibe short of fitness, with the 28-year-old having to settle for Carabao Cup outings before making his Premier League debut at Turf Moor after fans witnessed Coleman walk off.
Coleman could have counted himself lucky not to have been shown a straight red in the first-half for his tackle on Erik Peters, which former referee Dermot Gallagher claimed he’d use as an example to show young officials of what to look out for.
“I think it’s a red card offence,” he said on Sky Sports’ Ref Watch, via quotes by LancsLive. “If you’re training a young referee, the one thing you say to him when someone overruns the ball as Seamus does, ‘be prepared when he lunges for what might happen’.
“I have no doubt whatsoever that he had no intention of hurting this guy, but he’s tackled with the wrong foot, for me, he’s caught him on the back of the calf with his studs. I think if the referee sees what we see there, he would send him off.”
Sidibe went on to be Silva’s first-choice and remained the go-to option once Ancelotti arrived in the winter, but he was allowed to leave Everton this summer despite recording five assists across all competitions and with Monaco willing to accept less than the Toffees’ €14million (£12.6m) option clause.
Coleman, on the other hand, ended the season having lost the appreciation of supporters at times and was playing most of his games outside of his natural position under Ancelotti before the restart.
But with Sidibe gone, Coleman is back to being Everton’s number one at right-back and he rightfully deserves the role, with his performances now showing a player almost back to his best form and back to being a pivotal part of how his side plays.
The £8.55m-rated Republic of Ireland international may only boast one assist from five appearances – coming against Crystal Palace in a 2-1 win – but Coleman has never been one to pen high numbers, yet is producing fantastic displays week in, week out.
Most recently against Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday, Coleman captained the side perfectly before being brought off with an apparent hamstring injury, with his relentless workrate and ability to consume pressure absolutely top-draw.
Coleman won seven of his ten ground duels and all three of his attempted dribbles at Goodison Park, per SofaScore, while misplacing just two of his 30 passes – each of which came from an attempted cross and long ball. He also made two tackles, an interception and clearance while directing his only shot on target as he burst up and down the right-flank.
Getting Coleman back to this stage shows Ancelotti’s real magic as a manager and why Everton were lucky to hire the Italian to replace Silva, at a time West Ham United’s David Moyes was also being considered and touted as ‘the best they can get’.
AND in other news, Everton are planning to part ways with a multi-million-pound signing who scored four times last season.