'Incredible statistic' - The one Everton player in form of his life has fixed midfield issue

Everton midfielder Amadou Onana is comfortably playing his best football since arriving at the club.

Onana, 22, has recently picked up his form for both club and country over recent months and he has become a key figure for Sean Dyche.

Things have been improving across the pitch for Everton and Dyche has now found his spine that includes Onana, as well as the likes of Jordan Pickford, both centre-backs and Dominic Calvert-Lewin - the Belgium international is key in that midfield role.

He has started every game this season and even netted his first goal in the EFL Cup win over Burnley as well. His good form has also seen him linked with a move away to Newcastle United as well.

But one incredible statistic that highlights his successes this season comes from WhoScored; of the 109 players to contest 50+ ground duels in the Premier League this season, Amadou Onana has the best success rate (66.7%). It just shows how well he's stepped into the defensive midfield role this season, which is also something he has done with the senior national side for Belgium.

Idrissa Gueye was a key figure there last season, making the third-highest tackles in the league, but at 34, he hasn't got the same spring or presence he once had, and Onana is young, physical, smart and ever-improving.

After Gueye, there isn't another midfielder in the squad who can operate in that deeper role and it is certainly an area of concern if he were to be unavailable, but, for now, he fills that role and is doing so brilliantly.

That £35m fee it cost to acquire him from Lille in the summer of 2022 is looking like smart business as he is only going to increase in value as top clubs will eventually begin to eye him up.

Unfortunately, that is unavoidable, especially in the Premier League where plenty of clubs would benefit from having a six-foot-three, athletic and defensively sound midfielder such as him.

But for however long he remains at the club, he will continue to be a key figure and he, alongside James Garner, is fundamental in midfield for success under Dyche.

Recent form has shown that and if the club can continue to build, he will surely develop into an even more exciting player.