00:00Abdoulaye Décoré has become a vital player for Everton, delivering crucial performances
00:08and scoring important goals. His energy and reliability in midfield have earned him a
00:13strong bit of support from fans who appreciate his influence on the team. With his contract
00:20situation uncertain, I spoke with Will Rooney of Liverpool World about Décoré's growing
00:25impact and what lies ahead for him at the club.
00:55Décoré's legacy is left at Everton. He's scored some really important goals as well,
00:59especially in their relegation races, to avoid the drop. What do you make of Décoré's
01:07time at Everton before we go into a bit about his future?
01:12I think it's been a little bit mixed. He came in from Watford. He was obviously a really
01:18highly regarded player at Watford. Wasn't he a real engine in that team? Carlo Ancelotti
01:23signed him, maybe. He played a little bit deeper. Started really well under Rafa Benítez.
01:31Fell well out of favour under Frank Lampard. He admitted that he probably would have left
01:35if Frank Lampard hadn't been sacked beforehand. As you say, rejuvenated under Deitch. Scored
01:41that goal against Bournemouth that kept Everton up. Scored some really important goals. Towards
01:47the end of Sean Deitch's tenure, it started going a little bit stale for me and Décoré.
01:53I think fans were getting frustrated with him. But David Moyes comes in and yet again,
01:58he seems rejuvenated. He's scored two goals since Moyes' arrival. It was really telling
02:05that Moyes opted to start after his suspension at Crystal Palace. He came back into the team
02:13and started against Man Utd. He justified that because he got a goal and an assist and
02:20he missed the one-monther against Brentford last time out because his wife was given birth.
02:26So that's understandable. But you would think he's going to be a real mainstay for the
02:32remainder of the season. I don't think anyone will ever look back after Décoré and think,
02:38what a player he was. He's not going to be your Tim Kales or your Michel Arteta in recent times.
02:44Hannes Rodriguez is one of the really blown supporters away. But he'll always be appreciated
02:50for what he's done in Everton in difficult circumstances. He's obviously one of the
02:56players who is out of contract. In the summer, Sean Deitch has mentioned so many players are
03:02out of contract. They need to really nitpick and navigate their way through the amount of
03:07players out of contract. In terms of him and his future, where do you see it going?
03:12You've mentioned there that Moyes seems to like him, give him that sort of platform to rejuvenate
03:17and play amongst the midfielders. Do you see him being an Everton player past? Obviously,
03:23he's 32, 33 now as well. What do you see from his Everton future?
03:29It's a decision for the club to make because the club have got an option, whether they extend
03:33this deal. But that would likely be on the same terms he's on. I think that he is one of Everton's
03:44higher earners. Now, Everton need to look at that and think, can we get a player maybe that's better
03:51than our player for the same wages or maybe lower, potentially? They have to look at it like that.
03:57Can they maybe come to an agreement and think, well, we can't pay this for an extra year,
04:03but we want to give you a two-year deal, more security, but you'll be on less money.
04:09Maybe Everton can start planning for his future as well and look to bring other players in
04:14around his position. Obviously, they brought in Charlie Alcazar from Flamengo in January,
04:19and that deal could become permanent. It's versatile in terms of the centre midfield
04:24position. But do Everton start looking towards the future because he is 32 now?
04:30And to say, does Moyes look or anything? Maybe we could get better, maybe we start moving on,
04:36but you don't want to move too many players on. So,
04:39it's definitely a little bit of a dilemma for Everton heading into the summer.
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