Silva in defiant Kean claim as he calls on striker to emulate Liverpool star
Everton boss Marco Silva has backed striker Moise Kean to settle into English football following a poor start to the campaign thrust into the spotlight after recent comments from his father.
Kean, signed from Juventus in the summer, is yet to score for the Toffees having made 11 appearances in all competitions and his father Jean said his £25.1m move was a “mistake”.
More recent reports have linked Kean with a move back to the Italian top flight in a swap deal but speaking in a press conference on Friday, Silva dismissed the speculation and said that the 19-year-old will be given all the support he needs to find his feet at Goodison Park.
“Moise has all the support here, we bought him, we believe in him,” the manager said. “He has all the support from me, from the club and his team-mates to adapt to the Premier League. He is our present and future.
“What is most important is that I speak to him directly and everything is so clear for him. He is working really hard, he wants to play. After the Brighton game, where he didn’t play, on Sunday morning he was [at Finch Farm] to work really hard and gave me the answer I want.”
“He wants to play more like all the players we have. He has had some starts in the Premier League and Carabao Cup.”
Silva said there was hope for Kean yet, given that just across Stanley Park, Fabinho took a while to settle in at Liverpool and is now one of the first names on Jurgen Klopp’s team sheet.
“There’s many many examples of players who have come to the Premier League and not played,” Silva continued. “An example not too far from here is Fabinho.
“He plays a lot in the Liverpool team [now] but for the first six, seven months he didn’t play. And for most of the games he was in the stands. The most important thing is to keep teaching [Kean], for him to adapt as fast as he can.
“We are talking about a talent with quality and he has all the support from myself and my staff and he is working hard to play because that is what he wants.”
Everton host Norwich in Premier League action looking to build on their 2-1 win over Southampton before the international break.
