Déjà Vu – Contemplating Life Without Idrissa Gueye

I recall having a conversation in the pub with some pals in the Summer of 2019. None of them were Evertonians, though all were bigging Everton up, impressed with a very encouraging finish to the 2018/19 season in which we hammered Manchester United 4-0 amongst other impressive results. Being Evertonians, we can never just ride the optimism train, and indeed I was fulsome in my reluctance to back us. “We need to replace Idrissa Gueye” I said repeatedly throughout the Summer.

I can’t recall if Idrissa and Everton had parted ways by this point, but if he hadn’t it was clear he was going to. How could we have denied him the opportunity to join Paris Saint-Germain, after all, given we’d already kept him against his wishes that January deadline day?

Somehow losing Idrissa Gueye seemed to sneak under the radar that Summer. It felt like all the talk was about getting Kurt Zouma in permanently, even though Frank Lampard’s Chelsea had a transfer ban so were always unlikely to let him leave.

Replace Idrissa we did, though not to the required capability. Well, we never did find out if Jean-Philippe Gbamin was up to the job — after only one and a half games, he ruptured his Achilles tendon, was ruled out for a year and never recovered, hardly playing another game for us. A frankly disastrous signing at £25m.

Fabian Delph was also brought in. Perhaps the plan was for he and Gbamin to compliment each other as a pair, but Fabian, at £8.5m, also couldn’t stay fit enough at Everton, beginning only 13 Premier League games that season, which left young Tom Davies, at just 21-years-old then as the man with responsibility to hold and interrupt in defensive midfield. I liked Tom, but we all knew Idrissa Gueye he was not. Not that it’s really relevant as nobody was sad to see the back of him, but we had already bid au revoir to Morgan Schneiderlin that Summer too.

Failure to adequately replace Gueye that Summer caused a huge headache for then manager Marco Silva. Obviously injuries were unlucky, but it really emphasises the importance of getting this right.

Fast forward six years, and here we are again. Idrissa Gueye, after some very questionable initial displays when he returned to Everton at the back end of the transfer window in Summer 2022 – I’d say mostly down to Frank Lampard instruction – has got better and better during his second stint as an Evertonian and is probably looking at Player of the Season. His commitment to the cause and desire to win the ball is second to none. Indeed with 123 tackles, he has made the most of any footballer in the league. He’s brilliant; fit as a fiddle; rarely injured. A player we can not cope without.

And there lies the crux. I feel he is a player we will be without for the 2025/26 season. I hope I’m wrong. This notion isn’t based on anything other than rumours on Twitter/X, I just get the feeling he won’t be with us.

All of which feels horribly reminiscent to me of Summer 2019. A key player who will be very tough to replace. Money could be tight this Summer. We’ve a heck of a rebuild to get on with. A new stadium to bed into. Expectation with new ownership under a new, yet familiar manager. We’ll have to be smart and resourceful with the moneys available, which will be tough with so much business to be done.

Idrissa Gueye signing a new contract and staying put would solve a huge headache for David Moyes. To not have to think much about that position for another 12 months and focus on much needed full backs, striker and a winger would be like Solpadine to a hangover.

Lose Idrissa and I hope we’ve heeded the warnings of the cost of poor recruitment. We’ve plenty of experience to work with on that.

Not least with replacing Idrissa Gana Gueye with Jean-Philippe Gbamin.