Everton stance on midfield reshuffle revealed after controversial Gueye red card – Sources

Everton’s battling 1-0 win over Manchester United was incredibly impressive, given Idrissa Gana Gueye was sent off after just 13 minutes following an altercation with teammate Michael Keane, and TEAMtalk sources have revealed the Toffees’ stance on bringing in another new midfielder following the incident.

Gueye, 36, is undoubtedly one of Everton’s most important players, but he will now have to serve a three-game ban and will miss a big chunk of matches when he jets off to play for Senegal in the Africa Cup of Nations, which runs from December 21 to January 18.

If Senegal go all the way in the competition, Gueye could miss NINE of Everton’s next 10 Premier League games – which raises the question whether they need more cover in midfield.

Firstly, this was NOT a Lee Bowyer vs Kieron Dyer moment, but rather one of madness between two players who have a good relationship and were giving everything to win. You also have to question whether Gueye’s alleged ‘slap’ on Keane was enough to be considered violent conduct – but that’s water under the bridge now.

Gueye, generally a cool customer, apologised to Keane and his teammates in the dressing room following the win over United, and also posted on social media.

“I want to apologise first to Michael Keane,” Gueye wrote. “I take full responsibility for my reaction. I also apologise to my teammates, the staff, the fans and the club. What happened does not reflect who I am or the values I stand for. Emotions can run high, but nothing justifies such behaviour. I’ll make sure it never happens again.”

Moyes also played down the incident in his post-match interview and said: “I like my players fighting each other, if someone didn’t do the right action. If you want that toughness and resilience to get a result, you want someone to act on it.

“If nothing happened [no red card], I don’t think anyone in the stadium would have been surprised. I thought the referee could have taken a bit longer to think about it.”

READ MORE 🤔 What decision should Everton make on Gueye and Keane after ‘unacceptable’ Man Utd spat?

Moyes has options as Everton maintain stance on recalling loanee

Gueye’s absence poses a conundrum for Everton, but Moyes is unlikely to panic-buy a new player in January, per sources, as he has other midfielders to call upon in the coming weeks.

James Garner has been one of the Toffees’ standout stars this season, playing as a midfielder and full-back. But Moyes will likely keep him in the middle while Gueye is unavailable, as Everton will need his energy there more than ever.

This means Jake O’Brien will start at right-back for the foreseeable future, with the other option, Seamus Coleman, suffering a hamstring injury. However, TEAMtalk understands that Moyes will look to sign a right-back in January.

Tim Iroegbunam put in a solid performance in Everton’s 2-0 win over Fulham, prior to the United victory, and is the likeliest option to replace Gueye in midfield in the starting XI when they face Newcastle on Saturday.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who scored the fantastic winning goal against United, could potentially drop deeper and be replaced in the No 10 role by Charly Alcaraz.

Merlin Rohl, meanwhile, is currently unavailable after he had surgery on a hernia, but he is expected to be fit again by January.

Gueye’s situation has seen some Everton supporters call for young centre-mid Harrison Armstrong to be recalled from his loan from Preston North End, where he has been excellent so far.

TEAMtalk revealed on November 3 that Everton do have the option to recall Armstrong from his loan in January, but had no plans to do so. They are happy with his development at Deepdale.

Sources have today confirmed to us that Gueye’s absence has not changed their stance – the 18-year-old is still expected to stay with Preston for the rest of the campaign.

With this in mind, Iroegbunam and Rohl look set to battle it out for a spot in Moyes’ starting XI in the new year, but the former will likely get the nod on Saturday.

Predicted Everton XI vs Newcastle without Gueye