Everton attacker Theo Walcott has heaped praise on teammate Idrissa Gueye during the club’s pre-season tour of Kenya. The Senegal international has been a crucial figure at the heart of the Toffees midfield in recent seasons and he has the wished the midfielder the best of luck ahead of the African Cup of Nations final against Algeria.
Speaking in a press conference, Walcott was asked about the influence of African players in the Premier League where he mentioned Gueye, who has an exceptional workrate from the centre of the park, he said: “Idrissa particularly, he doesn’t stop and he is one of the players that works so hard and he is for me one of the best around and to actually share a field with him he just shows that he’s got real top quality so I wish him all the best, hopefully he comes back fit.”
Gueye’s future with the Toffees came under discussion during the winter of 2019 after he was the subject of interest from Paris Saint-Germain. At one point, the midfielder even handed a transfer request to push through a move but the same was declined by the Toffees, who were aware that they could not replace the Senegalese at a short notice.
Nonetheless, the speculation over the midfielder’s future has refused to cease and it will be interesting to see whether Les Parisiens return for his signature during the summer. Meanwhile, the Toffees have made good business with the re-signing of Andre Gomes, who formed an impressive midfield partnership with Gueye during the course of the previous season.
The Portuguese was a fundamental piece of Marco Silva’s side that excelled during the final three months of the previous season and it remains to be seen whether the Toffees can find the same level of consistency from the start of the new Premier League campaign.
