Everton analysis - Michael Keane under pressure as Sean Dyche bench problem clear

Taking the MichaelOne thing you don’t expect to see with a Sean Dyche side is a soft centre but Everton were brushed aside with far too much ease at Villa Park and unfortunately the player at the heart of that collapse was Michael Keane.Now in his seventh season with the club, Keane is a model professional, an intelligent and affable man who has not put a foot wrong in terms of his attitude or general conduct over a spell that has included its fair share of highs and lows but given his honest approach, he will know more than anyone that this was not his day.

Among some sections of the Blues fanbase who have witnessed the centre-back in good times and bad, there has been a clamour for Jarrad Branthwaite to start this season but while the youngster’s time might still yet come – Sean Dyche insists he and his staff have been pleased with what they have seen so far – his decision to begin the campaign with his two most senior players in the position was logical.Both 30 years of age and England internationals, Keane and stand-in captain James Tarkowski, who was the only outfielder to play every minute for his club in the Premier League last season, have played over 230 English top flight matches apiece whereas Branthwaite’s figure currently stands on just 10. However, following this Villa Park horror show for the pair, particularly with Keane’s individual errors for both the third and fourth goals, the calls to bring in the prospect who spent last season on loan at PSV Eindhoven will surely become deafening in the coming days.

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