Everton’s defensive structure has changed a lot this season.
Some tweaks have been born out of necessity, with a number of injuries to important personnel throughout the course of the 2020-21 season. But some are in line with the nature of manager Carlo Ancelotti, who is happy to tweak an XI and the players in it depending on opposition.
For a lot of players, these week-to-week amendments are water off a duck’s back. Ben Godfrey, for example, has performed well at right-back, left-back, centre-back in a back three and centre-back in a back four. He has the attributes to adapt and thrive.
The same doesn’t appear to be true for Michael Keane.
As injuries have bit for Everton in recent weeks, there have been numerous amendments to the team and the defensive makeup. In that time, Keane, who would’ve been in the running for the Everton Player of the Season prize earlier in the campaign, has endured a testing spell.
Kane is the last person Everton would want to see with the ball unmarked six-yards from goal taking his Premier League goal tally to 20 for the season.
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In a 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace recently, the centre-back vacated his spot on the right side of a back three to allow Michy Batshuayi to equalise late on. More recently, Keane’s pair of errors in tandem with Mason Holgate on Friday allowed Tottenham Hotspur to pick up a point in a game they didn’t deserve anything from.
The mistake against Palace was indicative of a player who hasn’t played on the outside of a back three much. The confusion between him and Holgate against Spurs perhaps wouldn’t have happened if they’d played together more often this season.
Of course, there have been other players toiling as Everton’s season has started to unravel, but Keane has found it particularly hard as of late.
Put him in a settled defence with little space in behind and Keane can be an asset. The England international is strong in the air, dominant defending narrow spaces and tidy on the ball too.
But if Ancelotti is to continue making amendments that prevent Everton from establishing consistency in terms of a defensive structure or of the individuals in it, Keane may find it difficult to hit a steady level of form going forward.