Everton forward Theo Walcott believes Moise Kean will be a success at Everton despite struggling to make an immediate impact.
The Italian international arrived in England with a big reputation following a couple of impressive campaigns in Serie A with Juventus but has been slow to adapt to English football.
Moise Kean at Everton: Five things to know…
- Everton signed Kean last summer for £35m.
- He managed six goals in 13 games for Juventus in 2018/19.
- However, he has scored just once in 18 Premier League games since arriving at Goodison.
- He was controversially substituted by Duncan Ferguson against Man Utd in December, 18 minutes after coming on.
- Despite this, Theo Walcott thinks ‘workaholic’ Kean will be a success at Everton.
However, despite his difficult start, Kean is expected to be a good player for Everton over the coming years. The arrival of Carlo Ancelotti at Goodison Park has already helped the Toffees improve and Walcott believes Kean just needs time to adjust.
“He’s 19 and coming to a whole new country, new culture, language, way of playing,” said the former Arsenal man. “It’s hard, you know!
“It feels like we put a lot of pressure on players who don’t ask for it. They just want to enjoy their football, but it always takes time to settle in a new environment, especially when you’re moving countries.
“He’s done very well in Italy, and now he’s adapting to English life and English football well.
“He’s a workaholic. He does some mad things with the ball, and he’s probably the strongest guy I’ve ever come across as well. I mean, Yerry [Mina] is a big unit but Moise can more than hold his own in that battle!
“I was so pleased when he got his first goal, because you could see the emotion in his face. He’s worked so hard, firstly to get his move and then since. I’ve been there myself and I know how it feels. I know he has the hunger.”
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The Ancelotti effect
Everton underperformed badly with Marco Silva in charge but they have already shown a marked improvement since Ancelotti took over in December.
The Toffees have only lost once in the seven matches since the three-times Champions League-winning coach has been in charge, and that was an away loss to Manchester City.
Everton are now just eight points behind fourth-placed Chelsea and only three behind Sheffield United in sixth. They take on Crystal Palace at Goodison Park this weekend.